Star Fox 2: Fear Styx Omega
by Krieger Aurelius
Summary: Sequel to The Rise of Styx Omega. Fox and company takes on a new mission. Will they be able to overcome the future hardships? Just wanted to say thank you to all my loyal fans. Your kind words is what keeps me writing and inspiring me to write even better
1. Chapter 1

**(Note: I decided to make a couple changes and separate this long chapter into two chapters. No changes will be made, but i will be sure to get rid of this annoying bold for ya. Enjoy Part Two of Styx Omega. Disclaimer, i don't own Star Fox, but i do own the following characters and planets you see on my profile.)**

The night was stormy, rain, thunder, lightning, everything you ask for when it comes to a bad storm. However, it did not slow anything down in the nightclub called, Hot Nights.

People were inside, dancing crazy as the music blared throughout the establishment, allowing people to dance, even if they were about one hundred feet away from the DJ. The bar, in the direct center of the club, about twenty stools would fit each side, of the square shaped bar.

People ordering drinks, talking to their friends or the shot girls as they walked around, wearing skimpy outfits that attracted a lot of men, mainly because they just wanted to fuck them. The exotic dancers dancing on their poles, as they received money from the spectators, who were enjoying seeing women dance, and wishing they could fuck them.

I gazed around the club, seeing people really enjoying themselves, but couldn't find it in me to have a good time. I sat at a table, almost trying to get as far away from everything as possible, but for reasons I can explain shortly. I had to sit fairly close to the bar.

I took a sip of my beer, not really liking the taste, but I'd been told that a beer was a social drink. I only nursed it, taking a sip every ten to twenty seconds, just to make it seem I was having a good time.

A bunny approached me, with a tray full of, what seemed like pills. I eye-balled her and the tray, switching back and forth between the two, as I raised my eyebrow, my eyes clouding over with anger. "Is that what I think it is?"

"Come on, babe. Try some Ecstasy. Everybody is doing it." "I'm good." "I'll try some." I froze for a moment, before I turned my head to my right, seeing my girlfriend, Sammy, a silver vixen, pulling out a fifty and received, what look like, ten Ecstasy tablets.

"Sam. Don't buy that shit. What the fuck is the purpose for buying that shit?" "Ah, come on, Jeff. It's a party. Plus everybody is doing it. Get with the times." "My times are telling me to kick that tray away from me." I said, glaring at the bunny, with a threatening tone.

She slowly backed away, being scared at the threat I had just given her, and turned around and quickly got away from me. "Geez, Jeff. You're such a party-pooper." "Oh come on, Sam. You're not really going to try that stuff, are you?" My question was answered, when she popped a tablet into her mouth.

I shook my head in disappointment, as I brought my beer to my mouth, taking a small sip. I glanced back over to my date, as she popped in a second tablet, after about maybe ten seconds. "Take it easy, Sam. You don't want to overdose yourself."

"Fuck you, Jeff. With today's modern drugs, that's impossible." "Tell me where did you hear that?" "A couple friends of mine." "Alright, tell me this. Have these friends overdosed themselves?"

"Well, maybe once or twice, but that's because they did multiple things at once. I'm just taking X." "X is one of the worst things you can take. You really want to ruin yourself by taking that shit?"

"Oh. Ten tablets aren't going to do shit to me." "Man. I really would like to know where you get your information 'cause what you are telling me comes from the mouth of a drug-addict."

"I am not a drug-addict! I am your girlfriend and I would appreciate if you trust me on this!" "If you end up in the hospital, don't say I didn't warn you." "Whatever." She said, popping in two more tablets at once. I sighed and closed my eyes, as I lowered my head.

"Not like you haven't done anything illegal. Mr. Green-fur." "Don't go there. And that was my job. There's nothing illegal about it." "It was your fault for being there." "Don't go there and it was NOT my fault! That was my job!" I said, rage filling my eyes.

A security guard came up to us, with that bunny stewardess that brought the tray of X. "Excuse me sir, but did you by any chance threaten this stewardess beside me?" The guard, a bear said to me. I just looked at him, and glared.

"I told her she better get that shit away from me before I kicked the tray out of her hands. That's all I said." "Sir. You realize how much this stuff costs to make and sell?" "Thousands. So what?" "Sir. If you don't like things we do here. Just get out."

I placed the bottle of beer onto the table, and stood up from my stool, trying to equal his height, which I almost successfully did, as I stood a little more than six two. "How about you ease up out of my face before I make you?"

"Jesus, Jeff. Just calm down! I'm sorry. He's usually not like this." She said, starting to get up from the table to get between me and the bear. "Sam. Stay out of this." I said, turning my head to look at her, but I eased up after what I saw.

Her hand, started to shiver, more like a violent shake. She tried to stop it with her other hand, but soon, it started to pass through to her other hand. "Sam? How are you feeling?" She just looked at me, putting on a fake smile. "I'm fine, Jeff. Rela…." She was unable to finish her sentence, as it seemed her brain had shutdown. She stood there for half a second, before falling to the floor. Her body was now going into a full seizure.

"Son of a bitch! Get her some help!" "How many has she had?" "Five, I think? Call a fucking ambulance!" "Just throw her out of the club." The bear said, causing me to turn around to face him.

"Throw her out? She's overdosing in your fucking club! You should be helping her!" "I'm sorry, sir, but our policy is that if you overdose in our bar. It ain't our problem. Remember that waiver you signed before you came in?"

"That waiver said you aren't responsible for overdosing? You're fucking with me, right? " "Afraid not." With that, the bear started to walk away. Out of rage, which has built to full strength within my body, I grabbed the bear and spun him around. I gave him an all-out punch into his face. Causing him to collapse to the floor.

Other people, now watching the scene, as more security guards started to come after me, trying to restrain me. "Go get a fucking ambulance or I won't have to kick all of your asses!" A cat charged me, preparing to tackle me. Alert of his attempts to do so, I just ducked, bending forward at the hip.

He flew over me as I kicked him as he flew about five feet into a table. "This the best you got? Call the fucking ambulance!" I barely finished my sentence, before a guard slammed a chair across my chest and face, knocking me unconscious. People stood around, as the guards picked up Sam and I, dragging us out of the club.

I began to stir, feeling raindrops against my face, as I slowly came to and realized I was outside. By the silence I was hearing, I was dropped off somewhere away from the bar, but I heard tires squealing.

I looked up, and saw a van started to drive away. My vision was too obscured, and I wasn't about to tell what kind of van it was. All I knew was that it was white.

I tried to clear my vision, rubbing my eyes to help the process. I lowered my hands and scanned everything around me, but came to a stop when I did a double-take to my left.

I saw Sam, still having a seizure as she laid in a puddle, ripples waving off of her as she continued to shake violently. I crawled over to her, trying to calm her, but everything I did wasn't working.

"Somebody help me! Call an ambulance!" A Doberman, who was walking by at the time, heard me and ran towards me. When he arrived and saw me trying to stop her seizures. He got out of his cell phone and dialed 911.

"Sam, please calm down and stay with me. I'm going to get you help." "J-Jeff. I-I-I'm sorry." "Sam?" I shook her, feeling her shaking was slowing. "Sam?!" A little louder this time, her shaking even slower now. "SAM!" Still.

"Sam? Sam?! SAAAM!" Her head fell to one side, as her eyes closed. I continued to shake her, but she wasn't responding. Tears filled my eyes, as Sam had died in my arms. I lowered my head, resting it against hers, hugging her tightly.

The Doberman that was behind me, just stared, a sad look filled his face as he stared at me. I cried, not caring that I was wet, not caring that my head was split open from the chair, I cared, knowing that Sam, my girlfriend of nine months, died.

* * *

Three years have passed since the rise of Styx Omega, and so far we have been doing a pretty damn good job. Our most recent bounty was a guy by the name of Jose Silesia. He was wanted for trial evasion and narcotics. A usual bounty, but nevertheless. We were getting ten thousand for this guy so of course we took the job.

We managed to catch the guy in a matter of hours. Very simple guy to find. I guess this is what you would call 'easy money'. Especially since there are thirteen of us, finding a guy would be done very quickly.

Besides our job, our main focus was watching our kids grow up. Marcus and Penelope, now three years old, have already started to walk, talk, even manage to count to thirty before they lose interest and go do something else.

Jericho, now four, is smarter than Marcus and Penelope, but what he is best known for is taking care of his sister Lena. She's only two and gets into trouble on a daily basis. He's always there to protect her, which I can tell, admires him for.

Ryan and Fay love their daughter, Kristy. Definitely takes after her father, which I couldn't believe. She tried to make everything a joke, but Adrian's son, Brandon, was there to straighten her out. Made me laugh to see this.

Jason, Bill's son, basically had a talent of drawing. At the age of three, he could draw like a fifteen year old could do. Though he has an interest in drawing, he loves to hang with his cousins and has so much respect for his parents. His left ear was even pierced.

Matt and Katt, who have been married for about two years, have a one year old son name Jimmy Oz Strong. His nickname is definitely Oz, like Matthew Perry in The Whole Nine Yards. He's just learning how to talk, but can walk. He likes to play with everyone's tail, but his own.

But yeah. We love our children and we'd do anything for them. Though, there have been days when we have to leave for a couple days for a bounty, leaving them with Peppy, Slippy, Amanda or even Claudia.

I still haven't changed much physically. Half my face is still exposed. My hands are still, but I try to wear gloves to cover them up. My left leg has grown back fur, but my right leg is just like everything else. Luckily my pants can cover that. Along with my shirt, which covers up the exposed areas of my chest.

It was summer at the house twenty minutes outside of Corneria City and everyone was outside. I watched the kids play out on the driveway, playing simple games like Hop Scotch to a board game like Life.

The dads sat on the front patio, looking out towards the kids and the scenery in the background. Truly an inspiring sight and one of Jason's favorite things to draw. "This life never gets old, does it?" Adrian said, as he took a sip of his lemonade.

"It's these type of things that make life wonderful." Ryan responded, drinking a glass of Jager. "You know, Cooper. You have been drinking Jager for so many years. You trying to get a liver disease or something?"

"I only drink it once, maybe twice a day. My liver has never felt better." "The last thing we need is for you to get sick with some sort of cancer and die. Leaving your wife and daughter fatherless." "You worry too much, Fox. If it makes you feel any better. I'll switch to water when I finish this."

I nodded with approval as I turned to look out towards the mountains in the distance. "Where are the girls?" "I think they would be shopping, Matt. Why?" "Haven't seen them in a while. Just wondering."

We continued to sit there for a while longer, just enjoying the day. Occasionally, I look over at the kids, just to make sure they stayed out of trouble. In the distance when I looked up, I saw a trail of smoke rising up the dirt road. I could only assume it were the girls.

When the car came into view, I smiled when I saw it was the Escalade. I rose from my chair, letting out a grunt when I stretched out my back. Everyone followed suit, as the car came to a stop about ten feet away from the porch.

I could hear the kids yelling happily when they saw their mother's stepping out of the vehicle. Marcus and Penelope ran up to Krystal, immediately being swept off their feet as she scooped them up in her arms. I approached her, planting a kiss on her lips.

"How was shopping, honey?" "Great. I found the perfect jacket for you." "Come on, Krystal. You know I still wear the leather trench coat." "Well, I got you a black one." "But I already have a black one?"

Krystal just glared at me, giving me an annoyed sigh. "Look. Just wear it and there won't be problems." "Let me see it." "That's better." She said, walking towards the cargo area of the Cadillac, opening up the back hatch.

"She still telling you what to do?" "Shut up, Cooper or I'll kick your ass like the old days." "But you never…." I lunged at him, only to just make him run away from me. I smiled at him run, as Krystal brought me my new jacket.

"Well, it is shinier than the new one." I said, putting my arms into the sleeves, then straightening it out. "Fits pretty good too. Thank you." Krystal smiled, as she planted a kiss on my nose.

"Nice flannel, Wolf. And what's that? New camouflage pants?" "Shut up, pup. What can I say? This stuff looks good on me." "Better than you do, Adrian." I said, looking over at the arctic wolf, who held Brandon in his arms. He looked down at his clothes.

"What?" "Oh nothing. You just dress a little emo, that's all." "You're lucky my kid is here." "Look. The AC/DC shirt is fine, but the black jean jacket with spikes is a little too emo, in my opinion. Or is that Goth?" "So, what? What do you want me to do?"

"Here, Adrian. Try on this suede jacket." He looked over at Miyu, who was holding a brand-new, brown suede jacket. "Alright." He handed her Brandon, while he took the jacket.

"Now that's a good looking jacket." "Where did Ryan go?" Matt asked, with Katt at his side, who was holding Jimmy. Everyone looked around, seeing no husky, well besides Bill, in sight.

"Did you see where he went, Bill?" "I think he dove into the flowers, but what do I know?" I turned to look at him, then towards the flower patch about thirty feet away. I scanned my surroundings, stopping when I saw the hose.

Wolf got the idea and walked over to it, turning on the water. He walked within a good distance of the flowers, before he fired a stream of water in that direction. "Holy shit! What the fuck?" Ryan yelled, jumping out of the flowers.

"What are you doing in there, bud?" Adrian asked, walking over, seeing Ryan dripping wet. "I thought Fox was coming after me, so I hid." "Don't you think, after a minute of not chasing after you, you think I wasn't going to hurt you?"

"You're too unpredictable at times. I wasn't sure." "You got to learn to relax, Cooper. All this worrying about me hurting you is not good for your health." "You bastard." Ryan said, just as I started to head for the house, a smile across my muzzle.

I walked inside, seeing all the women playing with the children, however, my attention was brought towards my feet, when a little blue fox grabbed onto my ankle. "Well, hello, Penelope." I said, lifting the small infant off the floor and into my arms.

She didn't say anything, she just planted a kiss on my nose. I violently rubbed my nose, as her whiskers had tickled. It made me laugh a little. "_You going to sneeze, poppa?" _I flinched at first at the sudden telepathy that entered my mind, but to remember one thing. "_No sweetie. Your whiskers are very ticklish." _I said, starting to tickle Penelope's stomach, causing her to giggle. My kids were telepaths, after inheriting it from us, mainly from Krystal.

I walked over to Krystal, who had Marcus on her lap, who was playing with a small model of an Arwing. I sat next to her, kissing her on her lips. "Penelope? Why don't you go play with Kristy?" "Okay, poppa." She said, as I held her to the floor as she immediately started running to go with Kristy.

I relaxed back into the sofa, letting out a big, relaxing sigh, only to growl when I heard my phone starting to vibrate. "Damnit. What does that hare want now?" "What make you think that's Peppy, McCloud?"

I pulled out my phone and held it in front of Adrian, seeing that the screen was saying Peppy. "Because the moment it started vibrating, I knew it was Peppy. Hello, Peppy. What can I do ya for?"

"_Hello, Fox. How are you?" "_I'm fine. Just was expecting you to call me. So what's up?" " _I have a job for you. I like all of you to come down here so we can discuss this." _" Sure thing. We'll be down there in a bit." "_Thank you. See you soon." "_Like-wise."

I hung up the phone and put in back into my pocket. "Well. We got another job. Wouldn't tell me what, but he wants us all to get down there so he can tell us." "What are we going to do about the kids?"

I turned back towards the children, who were all doing various activities. "I'll stay and watch them." I turned my head towards Zeria, who had volunteered. "I would appreciate that. Don't worry. I'll brief you when we get back." "Don't you always."

I kinda felt bad. Zeria stayed behind most of the time to watch the kids. I hated leaving her behind. I didn't want to make her feel useless, but we would be gone for only a hour. I knew I would make it up to her.

"Alright. Let's get going. Marcus! Penelope! Come say goodbye to your momma and poppa!" My kids looked up and started to waddle towards me and Krystal. I embraced Marcus in a hug, as Krystal did with Penelope.

"We'll be back soon." Krystal said, kissing Penelope on her forehead. "Can we get ice cream when you come back?" "We'll think about it. Just be good for your Aunt Zeria." "Okedokee." They both said in unison.

I walked outside, activating the keyless remote for the Escalade. "Adrian. Miyu. Just say the save and ride with Bill and Electra." "If we must." The lynx said, as she changed her direction towards the Tahoe.

"You know. Your kid made a good point. I kinda want some ice cream right about now." "Ryan………oh man you're just like a kid." "Hey. What's wrong with a little ice cream?"

"There's nothing wrong with a little ice cream, Ryan. I want some too." Katt said, defending Ryan. I just turned my head to stare at the pink feline. "Alright! We'll get ice cream when we get back." "YAY!"

I stopped, as I started to look around for those new voices. "I think the kids heard you, pup." Wolf said, starting to get in the rear seats of the Escalade. I only shook my head, and opened the driver-side door.

* * *

We arrived at the base, about five minutes ahead of schedule of what I was hoping for. So I was pleased with myself for driving……….like an ass. I opened the door, exiting the vehicle just like everyone else in the black SUV.

I turned my head and saw everyone starting to get out of the white Excursion, and the black Tahoe. We all stood together in front of the vehicles, before making our way towards the door.

The guards saw us approaching and saluted us as we walked past. "Good morning." "Good morning." I said to the guard, as he held the door open for us.

It was busy in the main office building of the base. Generals and administrators from other bases from Corneria, Katina, Sector X, etc….. It was their annual meeting to report their situation on how things are going on their end of Lylat.

We entered the elevator and took it to the top, which is where Peppy's office was. I stood with my arms crossed, continuing to wear my sunglasses. I couldn't help, but smile as music was playing in the background. From what I could tell, it sounded like Mozart or someone of the classical genre.

The music was overtaken by a loud ding, as we had reached our destination. The top floor. The doors slid open and down the hall, was Peppy's office. We past Claudia along the way, as she was making copies of some important documents.

I opened the door and entered the empty reception room, just making my way into Peppy's office. Peppy seemed surprised to see us, as he wasn't aware that we had arrived.

"Fox? Wolf? Everyone. Hello. Good to see you. I wasn't expecting you so soon. Where's my secretary?" "Down the hall, making copies." "And she just left her post, just like that?" Peppy said, sounding somewhat irritated.

"Peppy. You're the one who told her to make copies immediately." I said, chuckling a little. Peppy just laughed and took a seat at his desk. "Well. Anyway, I'm glad you all made it. This is an important job."

"As important as the Lector mission?" "No. The planet isn't in trouble. I hope, but this man we are after has some serious crimes. His most recent is a death by the use of drugs he's creating."

"Another drug mission?" "Well. His rap sheet consists of murders and drug-trafficking. But this one, I find most interesting." "Well, tell us already, General." Adrian said, getting a little impatient.

"He has a charge for genocide." "What?" I said, leaning forward in my chair. "Yes. It seems that he is known for almost killing off the human race of Earth." "Really? That's nuts."

"Of course the human race is now habited Earth-II, but only about fifty thousand survivors out of billions was all that's left." "Why would he kill off the human race?"

"He wouldn't say. Saying it wasn't him." I stared at Peppy confused, but I asked a question to break the silence. "This most recent death of his. The death by drug-use I think you said." "Oh yes." Peppy said, fumbling through his papers, pulling out the fourth sheet from the front.

"Well. The victims name was Samantha Temple. She died from a drug overdose from a drug called Ecstasy. A drug that was created and enhanced by this man. Randall Cain." Peppy said, pulling out a photo, revealing the picture of Cain, a Mastiff.

"Who is this Samantha Temple?" Adrian asked, the most I heard him talk in a long time. "Well. She recently graduated and works as a hostess at the five-star restaurant, Shay-Franc. Age twenty-three. Was currently dating a wolf by the name of Jeff Meiners."

"Does she have a rap sheet?" Ryan asked, talking for the first time. "No. If anything, she was a model citizen." "Poor thing. How do we find this, Cain?" Miyu asked.

"I don't know. We have no ways of finding him. He knows how to hide. He was last seen in the Outer Cinco planets, a good distance outside of Lylat. What is interesting about this region is that it has an anti-warp bubble surrounding it. Once you hit it, you exit your jump drive."

"How big is this bubble?" "About fifteen light-years in diameter. I don't know much about this region. No one really goes there so I don't have much to offer."

I sighed, frustrated that this was going to be a hard job. "Umm. I guess what does he look like? His specs?"

"Let's see. He's five-eight. One hundred and sixty pounds. In his forties. Those are his main features." "What are the names of the planets in this region?" "There are five of them. The dark planet, Midnight." "Why is it a dark planet?" Matt said, shifting his weight to lean against a bookshelf.

"Well. It's the furthers away from any star. The closest one being Solar. However, storm clouds are always present in the skies of this planet. Makes it rather hard to see anything. It's like you enter a pitch black room. With its mountainous regions, it's hard to navigate. The only light you see if the constant lightning storms overhead." "Creepy." Krystal said, a chill running through her spine.

"The next planet, is actually Zar Mega. After the war between the three super races called Terrans, Zerg and Protoss, basically all that's left is ruins and debris from the war. Don't know much about it except it has many terrains such as badlands, desert, ash world. And there's a massive….platform I guess you can call it, in a degrading orbit around the planet."

"That's where we ended up when we did a premature NOS jump." Ryan said, looking towards me, as I just stared straight forward, nodding my head. "Then there's the planet, Carbon. Basically the same as Midnight only there's light. Also a bit snowy for my taste."

"This one is rather weird. It's a combination between a fiery, ash world and a frozen, ice world. Somehow, the two have made an equal equilibrium and able to make this world, Accord." "Nice name. It's like the two halves made an agreement."

"Oh no. The ice and fire regions are spread out throughout the planet, it's like looking at a soccer ball." "Okay, now that's the crazy." Wolf said, finding this somewhat humorous.

"And the last planet. Well, this one is the most populated of the five. Has several metropolis cities across the planet. The largest consists of twenty million people. The smallest is only three." "Just like Chicago." "We just call this planet, Metropolis."

"Alright. Not much we can ask more. So I guess we'll get ready to leave. What are we doing? Killing this man or bringing him in?" "We want you to bring him in, but we understand that he may not go down without a fight. So dead or alive, but if you bring him in alive. You'll get paid substantially more."

"Hot damn! That's good enough for me!" Ryan said, jumping out of his chair and heading for the door. "Greedy bastard. Alright, Peppy. Just do me a favor." "Anything, Fox. What is it?" "Watch our kids."

"Oh sure. I would love to watch them." "Thank you, Peppy. We're gonna get going." "Good luck, everyone. Come back safe."

I nodded towards the old hare, as we all started to exit for the door. As soon as I passed Claudia's desk, I pulled out my cell phone. Pushing in a random sequence of numbers. "_Hello, Fox. What is it?"_

"Hey, Natasha. Get the ship ready to depart. We'll be leaving in about two hours." "_Of course, Fox." _I hung up the phone, as Krystal was looking at me, smiling. "You know I love that computer. Stop messing with me."

"I'm sorry, Fox, but I just find it too cute." "Shut up." I said, starting to blush a little, which made Krystal giggle.

* * *

We arrived back at the house, the kids were sad that we were leaving again, but even sadder that we were not going out for ice cream like I said we would.

I debriefed Zeria on everything I just learned and it took her a moment to accept everything she just learned. At the end, she just smiled and said, "Can hardly wait."

I packed a duffle bag full of clothes, but it wasn't much different than what I was wearing now. A pair of baggy jeans, and a gray long sleeve shirt. With my new trench coat and my sunglasses, I was ready to go.

"Don't you get tired of wearing the same thing over and over again?" "Nope." "Well. At least can you change back to your tan fur?" "Nope." "How long you gonna be white?" "Not much longer. I'm thinking of going black next." "Oh the hell you are!"

I just glared at Krystal, annoyed. "My fur. My rules." I said, slipping on my gloves to cover up my metal hands. Krystal just sighed at me and gave up, which made me smile. "Yes! I win!"

"Okay, fine you win. Now change back." "Nope." "You are so stubborn!" Krystal said, stomping over to me, anger in her eyes. "You look so hot when you're angry." She couldn't help, but smile a little.

"If like me being this hot, maybe I should be angry more often?" "I wouldn't mind." I said, smiling at her as I pressed my lips against hers. "Eww!"

I broke my kiss and look towards the door, seeing Marcus and Penelope were standing in the doorway. I laughed as I released Krystal from my hug and reached for my bag.

I took a knee in front of my kids. "Okay, kids. When your mother and I are gone, I want you to be on your best behavior for you grandpa Peppy. Okay?" They both nodded, but came up to hug me. "We're gonna miss you."

I hugged my children, as did Krystal, a tear started to form in her eye. "We'll be back soon. We promise." She said, trying to sound strong.

I released Penelope, as I stood up and started to head for the front door. Krystal was having a harder time letting go. From what I was sensing, she wasn't the only one having a hard time letting go.

Fara held on to Jericho and Lena, trying ever so hard to release her hug, but she just couldn't. This was a mission that required her to leave Lylat and she never really been away from her kids for more than a day. She was just not ready to leave, just yet.

"Mommy. You're hurtin' me." Lena said, in the grasp of Fara's big hug. She didn't realizing she was squeezing that hard. She released her hug and stared at her children with teary eyes.

"I'll miss you both. Be good for Peppy. I want to hear from him that you two were perfect angels. Maybe if you're good. I'll take you out for ice cream like we said we would." "YAY!"

She laughed as she held her children one last time. Wolf, just stood in the doorway, not knowing that a tear was starting to form in his eye. As the hard-ass he made out to be, he had a soft spot when it came to his children.

Miyu and Fay had an easier time letting go. They were already waiting downstairs with Ryan and Adrian. From what they saw outside, Peppy was now arriving and was being greeted by Zeria.

They opened the door and saw the old hare hugging the young vixen. "Zeria. So good to see you. You're looking good." "Thank you, Peppy. So do you." "Nah. I'm an old hare only getting older. Doesn't mean I don't enjoy a good brandy on occasion."

"Eww! No booze!" She said, feeling nauseas from the thought of liquor. "Sorry, Peppy. That was my doing." Matt said with Katt by his side, walking down the porch steps.

Peppy shook the collie's hand, as well as Katt's. Followed by everyone else, as we all started to exit the home. "Treat them well, Peppy. They all love you, but they will give you a hard time." Adrian said, laughing as he accepted Peppy's handshake.

"Oh, don't worry about me. Just make sure you all come back alive. I'll see you soon." "Yeah. Soon." I mumbled to myself, just loud enough for me to hear.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey everyone. Thought i let you know that this is still chapter one, but i just separated the one big chapter into two smaller ones. So, you have already read this. Sorry to disappoint you, but i'm currently trying to work on chapter 3. Hope i'll get it done soon, but my mind hasn't been in writing lately. So, i'll try to update as soon as possible. Thank you.**

The sky started getting darker, as storm clouds started to roll in. Lightning occasionally discharged in the sky, only to show that the storm was on its way. I knew rain was coming, kinda felt like a bad omen to me. The moment we leave, rain was on its way.

Since none of us had the proper shuttle just yet, we all walked to our designated fighters. It had been a while since I saw my ship. Though, the last thing I did before I left was change its call-sign. It was no longer the Zlogon Je. It was now called the Excalibur.

I loaded my luggage into the cargo bay of the ship, when someone approached me from behind. I figured it would be Krystal, it ended up being Fara. "Yeah, Fara. What's up?"

"I know its been years since we reunited our friendship, but I just wanted to tell you that I'm glad we're friends again." I couldn't help, but laugh, as the way she said it. It just made her cute.

"Oh Fara. You're too cute. But so am I. I'm glad we're friends again. I don't think I would survive another arrow through the heart if we met again under those circumstances." "Shut up, Fox. Don't make me feel even worse about that. I still haven't forgiven myself."

"I'm sorry." I said, wrapping my arms around her, pulling her in for a hug. She wrapped her arms around me and we shared a five second hug, before I let go of her. "Alright. Before others get suspicious, let's get moving. I'll meet you on the Matchitehew." "Sounds good."

I watched her walk away towards her Wolfen, before I turned around towards the cargo bay of the Excalibur. I grabbed the door and closed it, locking it to make sure it wouldn't open during mid-flight.

I looked back up at the sky, the storm was now over us, and I could swear I felt a drop of rain. I hurried up and climbed up the ladder, hopping in the cockpit, closing the canopy as fast as possible.

As soon as the canopy closed, hissing to ensure a tight seal, the rain started, immediately turning into a downpour. I flipped the switches, turning on the life-support systems and then the engines.

It had been a while since I had fired them so I kept the switch raised, until I heard a loud boom behind me. When I turned around, a saw a stack of barrels collapse. All I could do was laugh.

"Cornerian Base. This is Excalibur, ready for liftoff." "Roger, Excalibur. We have you and your team cleared for liftoff. Good hunting." "Thank you, Corneria. Enjoy the storm." I said, before flipping the frequency of the radio.

"Alright everyone. The tower has given us clearance to take off. See you all on the Matchitehew." "It's gonna be good to get back there. I miss that ship of your's." Ryan said, already adding power to his Wolfen, giving it the ability to hover before he took off.

"Yeah, McCloud. I'm glad that ship wasn't destroyed. Felt like home once I started considering you as a friend." Adrian said, sounding serious, but I knew he was smiling.

"Wow, Adrian. That's one of the nicest things you ever said to me…..or about my ship." "Be quiet. It won't happen again." "Wow, Adrian. You're such a hard-ass. Not as much as Fox was when we thought he was Krieger." Miyu chimed in, giggling in the background after she spoke.

"You're saying like Krieger was a bad guy, Miyu. I thought Fox was a real gentlemen." "Fay. It's amazing how much you are like Cooper." "Hey. What's wrong with me?"

"Oh, nothing. You just don't know how to keep your mouth shut." "But I never said anything." I hesitated, he had a point. "Fay. You don't know how to keep your mouth shut." "But I never really talk. I let Ryan get in trouble."

I just growled in frustration. "Holy shit. You guys are out-smarting, Fox. This is unbelievable. I was never able to beat him in situations like this. You should know that, right Electra? I told you all my academy days with him."

"Yeah, Fox. I never thought you would lose in a debate." No response. "Fox? You okay, sweetie?" No response. "He's mad. Right, pup?" No response. "Wow. We really got Fox mad. You all better watch out." Bill said, laughing.

I just pushed the throttle forward, allowing the ship to takeoff at maximum speed. Everyone else followed, except for Ryan, who seemed to have took off like a minute before me.

I just shook my head in disgust, it wasn't the matter that I lost in a debate. I'm just too lazy to pursue a victory. I'll let them have their moment to shine for now. Bastards. Seems that these days, all they want to do is get the best of me.

* * *

The Matchitehew looked beautiful, just like the day it first came out of dry-dock, everything hasn't been tested yet. Felt like something would short circuit the moment I tried to activate it. Basically everything on the ship was new.

The Excalibur landed softly in the hanger, the floors looked like they had been shined and waxed. When I took a look around when I opened the canopy, I could swear things looked even brighter than they were before.

It felt good to be back here, I could sense everyone was feeling the same as me. I jumped onto the floor, stretching out my arms, trying to loosen them up. I was greeted by Krystal, who wrapped her arms around me.

"Welcome home." I said, planting a kiss on hers. She just smiled and returned the favor. I took glances at everyone looking around the newly rebuilt hanger. "Natasha. All preparations made for departure?"

"Yes, Fox. I'm ready to leave on your command." "Take us out, quarter thrust." "One moment, Fox." I stared at the nearest intercom, confused. She never hesitated before. "I'm sorry, Fox, but someone wants to land on the ship. Should I allow him?

"What does he want?" "He won't say. Just insists that he is able to land immediately." I turned my head towards Krystal, she was as confused as I was. What harm could come to this? "Alright. Tell him he has permission." "Of course."

I walked over to the cargo bay, opening up the door to grab my duffle bag. Everyone did the same, but we all met in an open area of the hanger bay. Waiting for this mysterious guest to show up.

I waited for about five minutes before I saw a black object flying towards us. I could only hope it was him. As the ship approached us, I couldn't help, but notice the unique design of the fighter.

It was black, yes, but it didn't look like any fighter I ever seen. It looked sort of, out of date. Like it flew centuries ago. It landed softly on the hanger floor, hearing it shutdown in the process.

I looked at the ship, it had four sets of wings. Two in front, which seemed to change the pitch of the ship. The longer wings, angled towards the front of the ship, looked like it was used for steering. The remaining four wings seemed stationary. Just there for stability. (I based this ship off the fighter, SU-47.)

The canopy opened, revealing a…..green wolf? He jumped the short distance from the canopy to the floor, landing gracefully on his feet. He looked up at us, particularly at me. He must know who I was.

He started to make his way towards us, stopping a short distance between him and the group. "Styx Omega, right?" He said, in a deep voice. Sounded like his body was filled with pain and sorrow.

"Yeah. I'm Fox McCloud and you are?" He just turned his head, looking at each individual person, taking an extra moment to look at Zeria, before he fixated his eyes back on me.

"I hear you guys are going after Randall Cain. I want to tag along." "What makes you think you can come with us, just like that?" Wolf said, annoyed with the new wolf.

"When I found out you guys were going after Randall Cain. I knew I had to be part of it. This bounty of your's is personal to me. His drugs killed my woman." Everyone just stared at the green wolf, tears starting to fill his eyes.

"You're Jeff Meiners, aren't you?" He just nodded, staring straight at me. "What makes it worse is that his boys let her die and she ended up dying in my arms. I need payback for her death."

Everyone stared at him, feeling sympathy for him. I just looked at the green wolf, I knew what I had to do. It was the right thing. "There should be an extra room. It's yours."

"Thank you. I'll try not to get in the way." "Zeria? Take him to a guest room." Jeff began to scan the group, to figure out which one was Zeria. When he found out it was the silver vixen, I could sense he was a bit nervous.

We watched them starting to walk away, we took this time to talk about the new wolf. "What you think, Krystal?" "His anger and sadness is helping him developing a pretty good mental block, but from what I felt. He seems loving, kind, but he's just very angry right now."

"Can't say I don't blame the wolf. I would want this kind of revenge too. But that's just me talking. I don't know if all of you feel the same." Wolf said, wrapping his arm around Fara.

"No. I definitely would try to do the same." Adrian responded back. "Poor pup, though. I don't think he has anyone, other than himself now. That Samantha Temple was probably the only thing left he loved." I said, watching the wolf and vixen disappearing behind the door, leaving the hanger.

"Why do you think he's green, like that? Kinda of a Kelly Green, with a yellowish hue to it as well. Kinda weird." Ryan said, turning away from the doors to finish grabbing his luggage out of his cargo hold of his Wolfen.

"Also. Did all of you by any chance notice that he took an extra long look at Zeria?" Ryan said, turning his head back towards the group. "You saw that too?" Fay said, locking down her fighter.

"This ought to be interesting for the both of them." I mumbled to myself, Krystal was close enough to hear it.

* * *

All I could hear was the tapping of our feet as we walked across the metal floor. I couldn't help, but look around, it was as if the ship was just remade. Though, I watched this ship fight before, three years ago. Was it because it just got out of being rebuilt. It had to have been.

We past the mess hall and I couldn't help, but stop and walk inside. That silver vixen, if I recall, her name was Zeria. That's rather unusual, but still rather pretty. There's something about her that makes her mysterious. I wonder how she came aboard.

I shook my head from thoughts and entered the kitchen, taking notice of the three large pantries, the new stoves, refrigerators, the large liquor cabinet. I couldn't help, but smile a little, but then again. I didn't like drinking.

A whooshing noise from behind caught my attention, revealing the young silver vixen. I stared at her, as she looked back at me, confused. "Sorry. I had to take a look at this. Caught my attention."

She looked back at me, but smiled. "I was the same way when I first came aboard. Everyone else seemed to be….umm… shit what's that word? Hypnotized!" I just stared back at her, she smiled and giggled.

"There are still some words I still remembering to use." "You talk like you haven't spoken a word in your life." "Something like that." I stared at her, a confused look with a cocked eyebrow. "What you mean?"

"Well. How about we start walking and I'll tell you along the way?" I nodded at her, walking towards the kitchen doors. "You're the boss. Lead the way."

We exited the mess hall and continued our journey towards the guest rooms. "So? What's the story with you?" "Like how I came aboard here?" "Precisely."

"Well. I was alone most of my life. I found myself on a planet, basically lifeless of any contact with people like us. I guess you could say I was the most……smartest person on that planet." "What planet?" "I don't know. I don't think anyone knew."

"Anyway. I remained on this planet for many years. I think like ten. It was just me and I became a pretty good hunter and healer with the types of medicines I created while down on this planet, but I was still alone. It hurt me inside."

"I know the feeling." "You do?" "You finish and I'll tell you my story." "Okay. Well, that day changed, when I heard a loud sound, like thunder. I ran towards that sound, seeing a large black ship. It was the fighter you saw in the hanger bay. Fox's fighter."

"Oh okay. Makes sense. What was he doing on your planet?" "Hold your horses. Let me talk." I smiled at her, and laughed as I raised my hand, allowing her to continue. She smiled, but proceeded.

"I found Fox, standing next to a river, drinking water with his hands. He stopped, then yelled in pain. As he was drinking, he picked up a tadpole, but are very poisonous. It had bit him. The poison started coursing through his body, he fell unconscious a moment later. When he woke up a few hours later, I just finished creating my medicine. It cured him, but he fell unconscious once again."

"Sounds like he had a rough day." I stated, causing Zeria to laugh, as she continued. "Well. When he woke up the next day, he discovered me staring at him, in close proximity. Scared the fuck out of both of us. I was just fascinated by his metal face. Anyway, we started talking and he discovered that during my time in….." "Isolation?"

"Yes! Thank you. I had forgotten how to talk. He showed me how and he was my first friend in over ten years. I developed a crush on him, but I think it was just because he was the first person I've seen in such a long time like me. He brought me aboard, he taught me to fly, shoot, talk. He's like a father to me, but he's also my best friend. He made me feel like I was at home, with a family."

I couldn't help, but smile at the young vixen. From what I could tell, she seemed very timid back during her isolation. Now, she acted normal. If this took place during the Lector incident, that was three years ago. She's come across a long way since then.

"Now it's your turn." I looked up at her, then nodded before starting. "Well. My family died when I was eight. I was basically by myself, same as you. I had to get by, but with all the emotional strain on my mind. It turned me into a person people didn't like. They stayed away from me. Leaving me in MY own world of isolation."

"That's horrible." "When I was nineteen, I was working at a nuclear plant over on Macbeth. It was having a meltdown. I went into the reactor, in attempt to stop it. I succeeded, but it was killing me. A crew recovered me and brought me to Corneria, where I could be properly cured."

"You're very brave, you know that?" "Other's didn't think like you. When they heard about my actions and remembered what kind of person I was, they just saw me as a person with a death wish. Even though I saved thousands of people that day, my reputation was shattered even more for now people seeing me with a death wish. I grew angry and I basically shielded myself from everyone. My reputation was now, 'the guy with a death wish, and he'll bring you with him.' People feared me and were scared to be around or even near me."

"What? That's horrible. How could they do that to you?" "Anyway. So, here I am. I'm twenty-one, minding my own business in a grocery store. People knew who I was, because by this time. The mutation that was occurring inside of me was completed. The radiation built inside my body, altering some of my physical features. That's why I'm green."

Zeria looked at me, scanning my fur, then fixated on my eyes. My eyes were the only things that hadn't changed. If anything, a little yellow were brought out with the green.

"Anyway, I'm in this store and people saw me and hid from me. Others, took a different approach. I walked past this group of people, and they were making fun of me. I couldn't help, but try to ignore them the best I could. I was tempted to kill them right there. In the background though, I could hear one voice go, "Oh, grow up!"

"I didn't bother to look around because I figured it was my mind telling me what I wanted to hear. I stopped when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around and it was a silver vixen. Just like you. She apologized for her friends treating me like that. I just waved it off, saying that it was okay. I just walked away from her, not wanting to speak anymore, but she said something I couldn't believe I heard. She asked out for coffee."

I stopped walking for a moment, turning my body towards Zeria, who did the same. "I couldn't believe I heard right. So, we did. She ended becoming my best friend. Her name was Samantha Temple. We ended up falling in love and so on and so forth. We went to a club, one being owned by Randall Cain. His drugs put her into a comatose, until finally she died in my arms in an alleyway. We were thrown there, after I did my best to try to convince the guards to help her. I fought, I took down two guys before one slammed a chair in my face. Why I have scars here, and on my chest."

I pointed out the scars that ran across my eye and cheek. Then a few gashes on my chest after they had beaten me. "I vowed that I have her death avenged, and every time I look at you. I see her. Your fur. Your eyes. Your hair. You look exactly like her. It's amazing."

Zeria blushed a little, and hid her hands behind her back. "You're not falling in love with me, are you?" "I don't know. I don't know anything anymore." I said, continuing to walk down the hall, Zeria chasing after me.

We stopped in front of a door, it being one of the guest rooms. I looked all over the door and frame. Trying to figure out how this thing opens. No doorknob. No keypad or anything like that. What the hell?

Zeria smiled at my struggle, as she walked up next to me, opened a door, revealing a palm pad. I eyed it, then back at her. "Thanks." "No prob." I placed my hand on there, it took a moment to scan my hand.

A confirming beep was heard, as the pad now registered me as the owner of this room. I already was starting to feel at home. The door opened, sliding upward, I took a step in.

There wasn't too much too it. A nice couch with a moderate size television, a separate room for the bedroom. A bathroom was right next to the bedroom, a fridge. "Is this okay for you?"

I took a moment to look over the room again, then turned to Zeria. "This is better than my apartment. Thank you." "Don't mention it. Here. I'm sure Fox would've given this to you eventually. It's our phone numbers." I smiled at her, and I accepted the card.

"Well. You need anything. Give any of us a call. Bye Jeff." "Bye, Zeria." I watched her leave the room, then I just dropped my bag on the floor. I walked over to the couch and took a seat upon it.

I thought for a moment, someone in particular was wandering my mind. Things were starting to get a little clearer now. I felt like I belonged somewhere now. Though, this person I was really missing. "I miss you, Sam."

* * *

I laid on my bed, watching Krystal trying on different kinds of jewelry. I smiled when I saw her put her platinum band with the green gem back on her head. I remember the day I bought that for her. It was just before we left on the new refitted Great Fox back before the Aparoid Invasion.

She grabbed two gold bracelets and put them on her wrists. Followed by two anklets. She then did a turn in the mirror, looking at every inch of herself in her clothing. She was wearing a white tank top with a black skirt. I couldn't stop staring.

"I know I look sexy for only being twenty-six, but you make it too obvious." I couldn't help, but laugh. "So wait. You saying I don't look good for being thirty-four?" She turned around to look at me. "Well, you do have a distinguishing look about you."

"I can only cover up so much. It's the face that makes it hard. The sunglasses only hide a very small portion of my face. This freaking scar extends from my forehead all the way to above my mouth."

"I can still taste your lips. That's all that matters." She got on top of me, as we laid on the bed together. I smiled at her, as she did the same. "Oh good. I was beginning to worry I tasted like nothing."

"Oh shut up." She said, placing her lips on mine, as we shared a romantic kiss. It was however broken, ten seconds later, when there was a knocking at the door. "Just my luck." I said, gently pushing Krystal off of me, as I got up to get the door.

When it opened, it revealed Zeria, to my surprise. "Zeria? What brings you here?" "I just wanted to let you know that Jeff is settled in and he has our numbers." "Oh good. You saved me the trouble of doing that. Thank you."

She smiled, as Krystal offered her a seat. "You want anything?" I asked her, as I walked over to the fridge, pulling out a Mountain Dew. "No. I'm good." She took a seat where Krystal offered her, and she took a seat next to her.

"So Zeria. What you think of him? We're all still trying to figure him out." Zeria took a moment to think, blushing at the thought of him. "He's….he's……I think people misunderstand him a lot. Which is why he's like this." "What you mean?" I said, taking a seat in the chair across from them.

Zeria told us Jeff's story of his life and Krystal and I couldn't help, but shake our heads in disbelief. "He saves lives and people brand him as a person with a death wish. And Samantha was the first to see him as he wants to be seen. No wonder he's filled with so much sorrow and sadness and anger." Krystal said, a tear starting to form in her eye.

"Why did he take such a bigger liking to you than anyone else?" I asked Zeria, as she shifted her gaze towards me. "He says I look exactly like his girlfriend. Fur. Eyes. Hair. Everything."

"That's pretty understandable. Your both at that age too." "What you mean by that Fox?" Krystal said, looking at me, with a mischievous smirk. I just looked back and forth between the two vixens, before I just got up. "I…Uhh…got to go check something on the bridge." Making quick haste to get out of the room.

Krystal and Zeria laughed as they watched me leave the room. "Listen. I don't know how you feel about him, but out of all of us right now. You're going to be the one that he'll trust most. Try and be a good friend to him. We'll all do the same, but he'll open up to you the most."

"What makes you so sure?" "He's already told you about his life and how much you remind him of his girlfriend. I think he's already developing a crush on you." "So soon?"

"Zeria." Krystal said, laughing a little. "Guys are a tricky thing. I still don't know Fox completely. Men are very different and always have wandering minds. Just because that his first love is dead. Doesn't mean that his interests are moving on."

"But won't Samantha get angry?" "What she wants is for him to move on. As long as he remembers and loves her. That's all she asks of him." "Do you miss Panther?" "Not a chance." Krystal laughed, as she wrapped an arm around Zeria and hugged her, kissing her forehead.

I sat in the captain's chair on the bridge, just going over the flight path we were taking to Metropolis. Seemed like the first place we should go because it was the one planet where it had the most people.

I wasn't aware that Adrian walked onto the bridge, I was startled when he started talking. "So where are we heading?" "Metropolis. Seems like the best place to start." He nodded, as he stood next to me, with his arms crossed.

"What else is on your mind?" "I don't like this Jeff guy. There's something off about him." Adrian said, shaking his head. "I just had a talk with Zeria about the conversation those two had. You judge him by looks. You learn what he had to deal with, you would understand him."

"What don't I understand?" "People think of him as suicidal basically. A guy with a death wish and that's what people branded him as." "What? Why?" "Because he risked his life trying to save others. This is how they repay him."

Adrian shook his head, unable to believe what he just heard. "That why he's green?" "Yep." "What else about him don't I know?" "He has no family. No friends now. This, Samantha Temple, was the only person who actually saw him the way he wanted to be seen. Now that she's dead. He's gone back to his ways. Kinda sad to think about."

"Yeah, it is. The strain this puts on the mind, when you have to deal with this kind of bullshit. Poor guy. I was wrong about him." "He seems to have taken an interest in Zeria, though."

Adrian laughed, "Really?" "She thinks it's because she looks exactly like Sam, but I think there's more to it than that. They are both at that age. If it's meant to be. I'm gonna say I won't be surprised."

"What are you talking about? We all just met the guy and you are already predicting that those two are going to get hitched. That's a pretty risky assumption if you ask me." Adrian said, continuing to laugh.

"Eh, blow me…. On second thought. I'll have Krystal do that." "Yeah. Not a chance I would."

* * *

I sat in the mess hall, eating a small sandwich and drinking some water. No one was around me so I felt kinda lonely. I felt out of place, sometimes. Even though I just got here, I feel like I shouldn't be here. I feel like I would get in the way somehow.

A walking couple past, I didn't know who they were, but they were a husky and a doberman. I couldn't help, but look at the similarities. Tattoos, piercings and she had a bit of gothic makeup on, but I couldn't help but notice that she was rather attractive.

"Hey! This seat taken?" The husky said, acting friendly towards me. Just so I could be a smart-ass, I scanned the mess hall, seeing if there was anyone around. "I think they're free."

The husky laughed, as he took a seat, with the doberman next to him. "I'm Bill. This is Electra. I saw you and thought you needed someone to talk to." "Appreciate that. The only one that seems to enjoy my company so far is that Zeria girl."

"You better be careful with her. Fox treats her like a daughter. He found her, you know." "Yeah, she told me about that." "So. How about you? What's the story with you?" "Short or long version?" "I got time."

"And there you have it." Bill just stared at me, Electra looked very sad. "Oh, Jeff. That's terrible. How could they treat you like that?" Electra said, a look of sympathy cast towards me.

"I guess I brought it on myself, but how would you feel if your parents died?" "Tell you that you got one thing in common with Fox." "Yeah. I know about that." Our attention was brought back to the door, when another husky and a spaniel walked in.

"Hey! I'll be with you guys in just one sec. I need my Jager!" Ryan yelled, as he walked into the kitchen. Fay just walked towards the group. "Hey. I'm Fay. That's Ryan. He loves Jager."

I just laughed a little, "Yeah, I noticed. Do you need me to tell you my story too?" "No. We heard it from Zeria. You poor thing." Fay said, embracing me in a hug. "The word is getting out, friend. Don't worry. I don't think you need to tell you story anymore." Ryan said, emerging out of the kitchen.

"Damn. I won't be the center of attention anymore." "So? Besides your line of work at that plant on Macbeth. What else have you done with yourself?" Bill asked, as he leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms.

"Joined the academy, became a pilot. Nothing special. I also became a pretty good marksman. Worked at my share of stores, restaurants, that stuff." "Ever thought of doing bounty hunter work?"

"It's crossed my mind." "Well. I can tell you Fox gave me a hard time when we first met. Matter of fact, he still gives me a hard time." "That's just because you bring it on yourself, Cooper." "Shut up."

I laughed, then finished the rest of my water. "There a gym or something like that around here?" "Yeah. Down the hall and take the stairs one floor down. First door on the right." Electra said, answering me. "Thank you. And thank you, all of you. For making me feel welcome around here." "No prob. Glad we're getting to know you." Fay said, as I waved goodbye.

* * *

Zeria was walking through the hall, just walking, nothing more. She heard grunting as she approached the gym. When she peeked her head through the barely opened door, she was amazed at what she saw.

I was performing ancient sword techniques, with my specially made sword. My moves were flawless, precise and she was amazed that she was watching someone do this kind of fighting.

As I performed a slice, I fell to the ground, grabbing the back of my leg as it was now starting to cramp. I groaned in pain, as I tried to free the muscles. By this time, Zeria had ran up to me.

"You okay?" When I stopped to look at her, I swear my heart skipped a beat. I thought for a moment it was Sam, but something told me it wasn't. The scent of her. It was different and it made remember that it was Zeria.

"My leg is cramped is all. Haven't been drinking enough water. Just had one glass." I said, rubbing the area of the cramp. She soon started helping me rub the cramp. I stopped to stare at her.

"Better?" "Yes, thank you." I said, starting to stand up once again. "I have never seen a sword like that." Zeria said, pointing at my weapon. I looked down to stare at it, turning it, watching the light reflect off of it.

"A special made weapon, hand-crafted to perfection. The wave designed was my idea, thought it would look cool, but the metal consists of both platinum and titanium, but miraculously. You combine the two metals together, makes a metal so strong, but yet so light. Try." I said, handing her the weapon.

She accepted it in her hand and was amazed at how light it was. Had to have been only ten pounds. She stared at the handle, looked like it was made from solid gold. The grip was a tacky leather that provided excellent grip. A remarkable weapon.

She gave it back to me and I slid it into its sheath, she was amazed at the sheath curve perfectly with the blade. All she did was smile.

"What brings you here anyway?" I asked her, as I gently placed the sword on the ground. "Well. I heard noises and I was wondering what they were." "Well. You found out it was me. Now someone knows I'm an excellent swordsman. I'll tell the others eventually." "But I already know."

We both looked up, seeing Fox walking through the door, a smirk on his face. "Didn't expect that from you, kid." "You shouldn't assume then." Fox laughed, as he patted my shoulder. "I guess I shouldn't."

I started to gather all my things, and we all walked out of the gym together. "Do you have a gun on you as well?" I stopped to look at the older vulpine, then I dropped my back and kneeled next to it, unzipping it.

When I pulled it out, Fox just laughed. "Subtle. And very discreet." "I know, right?" Zeria just looked back and forth between us, confused. "That's not very discreet. You have to hold it with both hands."

Fox turned to look at her, then wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Oh, Zeria. You still need a little work on sarcasm." She just looked at her father-figure, then back at the weapon I was holding. "What kind of gun is that?"

"This is the SAW. The M249. Mine has been modified to have extreme accuracy, fires from a one hundred round belt, laser-sight. Though it takes a few seconds to reload."

"You got a sidearm?" "Yeah, a big one. How about you?" Fox just laughed. "Smartass. Though, don't get too cute with me." I stared at him, trying to stop joking with him, as I pulled out my sidearm.

"A Taurus PT99?" "Yep. Served me pretty well when I'm unable to use my SAW. I hear you use a pretty badass revolver."

"Yep. I do." Fox said, pulling out his gun. He gave it to me, just so I could take a close look at it. "I love how you set this thing to have a plasma or bullet setting. Cool idea." I said, handing him back the gun. "I thought so. Now, I actually was walking around looking for you. When we arrive at Metropolis, I want you to stay close to us. And make sure you don't walk around with that big of a weapon."

"Why? People will fear me if I do." "You could end up getting shot." "I don't care." "With that kind of attitude, you won't be alive long to avenge Sam." "I said I don't care if I get shot. I'm not going to die."

Fox just stared at me. "Arrogant punk, aren't you?" "I guess so." "Just don't get shot." Fox said, walking away. Zeria decided to follow him, as she waved goodbye. I just nodded my head at her, as I turned the opposite direction.

"How many hours till we reach Metropolis, Natasha?" "Approximately two hours, Fox." "Thank you." "You are welcome."

Fox stretched in his captain's chair, as we had entered the anti-warp bubble about seven hours ago. Krystal stood next to me, stroking the hair on the back of my head. I purred, which made her giggle.

"My God. This is taking forever. I hate this area. We would've arrived at Metropolis like five hours ago." "Come on, Fox. Here you are just sitting on the bridge. Imagine the alone time we could be having right now."

I stopped for a moment to think about it. It would be like eleven right now. Most likely everyone is in their rooms. "Alright. That's good enough for me. Let's go." I said, rising out of my chair and running toward our running, practically dragging Krystal behind me.

* * *

Zeria laid in her bed, mixed emotions swarming through her. Her main thought right now was towards me. She thought that no matter what, Fox would always be her main crush, but since she's met me. She's not so sure.

She rose from her laying down position and started to make her way out of the room. Before she did that, she made sure she was properly covered. That being a simple tank top and shorts.

She walked out into the hall, looking both ways, hearing, but silence, which was very disturbing to her. She began to walk down the hall, go figure it was in the direction of my room.

When she got to my room, she stopped in front of it, but remained in the middle of the hall. She looked up at, thinking rather or not she should knock.

"You were going to be there a rather long time because not a chance I would open the door if I'm out here." A voice said from down the hall. Zeria shot a quick glance down the direction the voice came from, seeing me standing at an intersection.

"I….I just wanted to see…." "Before you say anything. Go back to your room and think. You better make sure you are sure this is what you want."

Zeria just stared at me, confused. "Krystal was right. You guys are a tricky thing." "Not as complicated as women." She laughed, as she turned around. "I just want to make sure you have feelings, Zeria, and this isn't some sort of crush like you have with Fox."

She her body, facing me. "Love is a complicated thing. It's not a game. It's a serious deal." "How will I know if this is serious?" "Trust your heart. It always knows."

Zeria nodded at me, as she started walking down the hall. "Goodnight." She turned her head around, hearing me saying goodnight to her. "Night, Jeff. Thanks for the advice." "If it means anything. You're a better person than I will ever be."

She wanted to rebuttal that, but I had already disappeared behind my bedroom door. She stood there for a moment, before she just walked back to her room, and hope a good night's sleep will put this behind us.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everyone. I'm sorry this chapter took a long time to update. I just haven't been able to type. My mind wasn't able to focus. That's a problem i have. If my mind isn't in what i call "The Zone", then i can't type for very long and whatever I do type. Isn't very good. So, forgive me if this chapter isn't that good. My pre-apologies, but here it is. Chapter 3. Try and enjoy.**

We all arrived at the bistro Adrian and Miyu were at earlier. Nicolas, to his surprise, wasn't expecting to see them so soon, but when he saw that they were here to discuss business, and to try their food. He just put on a smile.

"So? What you find Matt?" Fox asked, sounding a little happy knowing that they finally are getting somewhere. "Well. We talk to this feline with a baby. She said she knew she saw him somewhere before, but couldn't remember where. Finally, about fifteen minutes later, as we were walking out of the store we were at. She said she was on business over on Accord, where surprisingly, a small city is located there, and she was on business with salesmen shit. I don't know. That crap. Anyway, she bumped into him as she was walking out of this building and she said this was last week."

"Last week, huh? Nothing anything sooner?" "It's the best we could find. At least it's something." Katt tried defending her husband. "I guess we can try and find something over on Accord. By the way, where's the kid?"

"Walking." Electra said, causing Fox to eye her. "What you mean, walking?" "Something in his mind set him off, almost killing a civilian, then almost shooting me, but Zeria got through to him and he calmed down, but when he realized what had happened, he took off, leaving us his weapons." Bill explained.

"What did you do Zeria to calm him down?" Krystal asked, turning to face her. Zeria seemed a bit nervous, she didn't want to tell, but Fox saw this and entered her mind. Though, he seemed a little upset, he knew it was needed to be done. "She kissed him."

Everyone turned to look at Fox, then back at Zeria, as she just lowered her head, blushing with embarrassment. Krystal just wrapped her in her arms.

"It's okay, Zeria. I know what you saw and it had to be done. Don't feel ashamed." "It was the first thing that came to mind. Bill slapped him to try to snap him out of his trance, but anger coursed through him and I tried pulling away his gun, but his anger…I don't know…." "Shhh." Zeria looked like she was about to cry, but Krystal just held her with an assuring hug.

"Do any of you know where he took off?" Wolf asked, mainly focusing on Bill. "From where we were standing. He went south on Rivera. When he went around a corner, that was the last we saw of him. I left him a message, telling him we would be here, but I don't know if he's read it yet. He never responded when I called."

"That kid needs help. Let's go try and find him and you and Krystal should try and talk to him. There's so much going through his mind that's clouding his judgment. Rivera. That's the ghetto, right?" Ryan suggested, sounding worried. "Yeah. Not too far away from here." Electra answered.

"Well. I recommend that we give him time to let his mind cool, then we go search. Let's order some food. Sound good?" Everyone nodded in agreement, but everyone's focus was turned when the bell above the door rang.

Revealing me, soaking wet, but my eyes stained with tears. Zeria immediately got up and ran over to me. Embracing me in a hug. I just stood there, not processing any signs of awareness. "Come on. Have a seat." Zeria said, tugging on my arm, leading me towards a chair.

As I took a seat between Zeria and Krystal, I could feel all eyes on me. It was absolutely silent in the group, and I knew I had to say something to break it. "Bill? I'm sorry for almost shooting you. I know you're not going to forgive me, just like that, but I know you would at least like to hear the apology."

Bill just stared at me, didn't know what to say in response. "Look, kid. None of us really know what to think of you right now. You seemed like a decent guy, but then these actions make all of us wonder. You're just like Fox when his parents died. He, Zeria, even Krystal know more about this than any of us. It must be a touchy subject for you."

I just nodded my head, as I slowly tried to look up at him, tears continuing to fall. "Fox and Krystal offered to help you with your problems. We all want to make sure we don't have to worry about you shooting us. From what I'm seeing from you, from what I heard about you. I can't stay mad."

I looked up at him, stunned that he actually had forgiven me that fast. "You think you're still on the same page with us and wanting to bring down this bastard?" "Absolutely." Bill just held out his hand, I took a moment, before I grabbed his and shook it. "No hard feelings. Just not again."

I laughed slightly, but I couldn't help, but cry even more. "You hungry?" Krystal asked, placing a hand on my shoulder. "I don't know. Maybe something small." "Here. Take a look at the menu."

I grabbed the menu and started glancing at it, but a moment later. I dropped it on the table and turned to embrace Zeria in a hug. Everyone just stared, wondering what I was doing. "Thank you…for helping me."

Zeria smiled, as she wrapped her arms around me. "You're welcome." "They do make a cute couple." Fay said, causing me to back away immediately, blushing a little. Everyone laughed a little, as I just hid my face in the menu.

* * *

We all arrived back on the Matchitehew, ready to depart on our journey to Accord. The trip would take about a day, stupid jump drive still can't allow the jump through this bubble.

It was close to being twenty hundred hours and everyone just did various things around the ship, mainly just relaxing with their loved ones. Zeria hung around with Fox and Krystal, watching a movie about a group of thieves stealing cars, called Gone in Sixty Seconds.

Though, the entire time, Zeria's mind was set on me. She was worried if I was alright, but Fox and Krystal kept telling her that I was fine. I was just alone, trying to calm down.

She wasn't buying it though. She wanted to see for herself, but she didn't want to upset her parent-figures, by not believing them. "Go, sweetie. We know you want to go. Go see for yourself." Krystal said, sounding as sweet as possible with a smile.

Zeria just nodded and left the room, leaving both Fox and Krystal smiling. "She really likes that guy, doesn't she?" He asked, turning his head slightly, making sure she was gone.

"Yeah, she does. And he does too. That's why every time he's angry, when she shows up. He calms down. When she kissed him, his mind was at peace." "You don't think he likes her just because he looks like his ex?"

"I think he likes her, because he likes her. That was just an excuse." "You're the woman. You know more about feelings than I ever will." Krystal just laughed and smiled at him. "I also know your sensitive areas that make you purr."

"No you don't." As soon as he finished speaking, he immediately started purring, as Krystal was gently stroking him, underneath his jawbone. It had to be a nice, gentle, stroke otherwise it just felt like a scratching feeling.

"Alright. Fine you do. Now let's get in bed. You made me in the mood." "Sounds good to me. I just hope you know what really turns ME on." "Babe. I'm insulted. Don't worry. You'll get it." "Yay!"

* * *

Zeria searched all over the ship, before finally she gave up with the searching and just asked Natasha. She told her that I was sitting in the kitchen of the mess hall.

When she poked her head through the kitchen door, she saw me sitting against the wall, with a liquor bottle in my hands. "Jeff! What are you doing?" I shakily turned my head towards her, as I just smiled at her.

"Just drinking my problems away, babe." Zeria sat next to me, unable to believe that I was sitting on the floor, already drunk. "How long have you been here?"

I thought for a moment, before I just started counting my fingers. "This many." I said, holding up three fingers. "Three minutes?" "Noooo! I think? I don't know." I said, laughing as I took another sip from the bottle of whiskey.

"I thought you said that you don't like drinking?" "I don't, but it just tastes so gooooood." I said, beginning to take a drink from the bottle again, but this time, she pulled the bottle away from me.

"Jeff. This bottle is almost empty. Were you here for thirty minutes maybe?" "YEAH! THAT'S IT!" I yelled at her, happy knowing I got my answer. She flinched backwards at the sudden increase in volume, but she backed away as my breath repulsed her.

"Come on. You want to go to bed." She said, as she pulled me up on my feet. "I do? When did this happen? You taking me?" "Yes? Who else is here?" "Umm. Let's see." "Don't answer that, you moron." "Now, wait just one second. I may be a dumbass, but I am certainly no moron."

"A dumbass is worse than a moron." "It is? Wow, you are soooo smart." I said, staring at her, very close proximity of her face. "Can I kiss you?" "What? No!" "Please. Just a little." I said, leaning closer to her. "Get the fuck away from me!" Zeria yelled, as she pushed me right through the doors.

The door broke off its hinges as I went through it, now I laid on the floor, wood splinters all around me. I just stared at the ceiling, dazed. Zeria just covered her mouth with her hands, unable to believe that she just did that.

She kneeled beside me, scared that I may have hurt myself, but I just stared at the ceiling, tears forming in my eyes. "Is this what I become?" "Jeff. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to push you that hard."

"No, Zeria. I deserved it. Look at me. Look at what I become. Look how I became the drunk I never wanted to be." "You're not a drunk. So much is happening to you right now, and your mind isn't dealing with it correctly."

"No. My mind is dealing with this correctly. I'm just taking the loser's way out. Alcohol never solves my problems. It just makes me the person you just saw. By the way, I'm sorry you had to see that."

"Jeff…" "I'm just thankful I have a friend like you. We…are still friends, right?" "Of course. I wouldn't have this incident end our friendship. I know this isn't you." "Can you help me to a shower or something? I need to get this shit out of my system."

"You know, sleep is the best way." "I'm not ready for sleep. I just need a shit load of cold water showering on me." "If you say so."

I laid in the shower, cold water streaming against my body, as I just sat there, shivering my ass off. Zeria wanted to shut it off, but I told her no.

Something however caught her attention, a photograph. When she took a closer look at it, she saw that it was my parents. Them on their wedding day, my dad is a suit that you wouldn't believe was considered a suit.

Though, she just smiled as she stared at them. When she turned to look at me, she saw that I had fallen over. She ran to me, shutting off the water and saw that I had fallen asleep.

She ran soon warm water on me, just to try and get my body temperature back up, before she took off my clothes and put me into bed. She stared at me for a moment. She then kissed my forehead, stroking my hair a little, then she took a seat across from the bed, make sure I wouldn't throw up and choke in the middle of the night.

* * *

"I have never known her to be this caring towards others. I thought she cared about us a lot, but she doesn't want to leave his side." Fox said, laying in bed, with Krystal laying across his chest.

"I find it very sweet." "Oh so do I, but….she's never felt this way about someone before. Not even with me." "I think she always knew that you were taken." "Yeah, probably. If she seems sure about this, maybe I should talk to him in the morning."

"I think that would be good. She is basically your daughter and you care and worry about her like a parent should." "Yeah." "You up for another round?" "What you think?" "That's a yes."

* * *

My eyes slowly fluttered open the next morning, the first thing that came to mind was I had a splitting headache. I groaned as I sat up in my bed, but when I saw Zeria was still in the room, I immediately shut up.

She had been sleeping in a love seat, no more than ten feet away from my bed. She had stayed the whole night watching over me. I just smiled at her, and I couldn't bare to wake her up.

I quietly got out of bed and headed for the door. I scanned down and made sure I was dressed, and surprisingly, I was. What a sweet girl.

I exited the room, beginning to walk out into the hallway when someone stopped me. Fox was standing next to the door, leaning up against the wall, as if he were waiting for me. "Let's take a walk."

I skeptically followed him, as I walked beside the white fox, who was slightly taller than me. I didn't know what he was going to do to me. I was very nervous.

"I know about what happened last night." "Oh shit." "Not that I blame you, kid. I reacted almost the same way. Only I think I took it worse than you. Remember I used to be Krieger Aurelius."

"Yeah. I recognize that name." Fox smiled, before he changed the subject. "Zeria has taken a real liking to you. I'm surprised that I'm sensing all these feelings from her." "She never felt this way about someone before?"

"I thought I felt her affection towards me when I first met her, but the feelings I sensing from her now, are nowhere near. I think she loves you, kid." I stopped dead in my tracks, looking straight at Fox, as he turned around to face me.

"Love?" "Why you seem surprise by that?" "Maybe it's because I don't deal with love much. I mean come on. Ever since my parents died, the only person to ever love me was Sam. I always told myself that she will be the only one to ever love me. Now you're telling me that Zeria might love me?"

"Calm down, kid. You're going to blow a fuse." I leaned up against a wall, my head at a downwards angle, I just stared at the floor. Fox just looked at me, he tried thinking of words that might help me, but this was something I don't deal with much.

"Look, kid. Jeff." The sound of my name made me look up at him, staring straight into his eyes. "You're afraid to admit it, but I know deep down. You love her too. The thought of loving another woman is making your mind race a million thoughts a second. Trust me. I been there. You got to let your heart tell you want you really want."

"I don't know what I want though. I feel so confused and lost that my heart isn't telling me anything because it doesn't know what to say." "Do you love her?" "I don't know." "Do you love her?!" Slightly louder this time. "I don't know." "Do you love her?" Almost at the brink of yelling. "I don't know!" "DO YOU LOVE HER?!" A complete shout.

I just stared at Fox, anger coursing through me. I knew he felt it, but I blurted out the first thing that came to mind, but deep down. I knew it was the right answer. "YES! I LOVE HER!"

After I yelled, I felt like my mind was shutting down. It was in a complete overload and I started to hyperventilate. "Jeff. Calm yourself." My response, tears.

I fell to the ground, sitting and leaning up against the wall, tears falling from my eyes. Fox took a knee next to me, smiling. "You just told yourself what you wanted. How do you feel?"

I didn't answer, mainly because my crying was preventing me from talking. The only way I could try to make him understand was a hand sign. I pounded my chest twice, before extending my arm, giving the peace sign.

Fox just stared at me, confused at what I meant. "What?" "My heart feels at peace!" I yelled, looking at him with red, teary eyes. "Good. Now go get her. She is somewhat like my daughter so you better treat her well." "No."

"What?" I shook my head at him, "Not yet. I feel like this isn't the right time. When the time is right, we'll see." "Why do you wait?" "Just doesn't feel like now is the right time to tell her how I feel. After last night, definitely not."

Fox just eyed me, cocking his right eyebrow as he stared at me. "You are strange." "Tell me something I don't know." Fox just laughed, as he got up, offering a hand to pull me up.

I stood on my feet, trying my best to wipe my eyes clean. Fox just stared at me, then raised his eyes a little. "She's up and worried about you. You better go talk to her." I turned around, then back towards him while nodding. "Thank you."

I didn't bother to wait for his response, as I just started walking back towards my room, knowing full well that he was watching me. "_I think I got through to him." "That's good to hear. I feel that his heart has been cleansed a bit. You did good, sweetie." "Thanks."_

_

* * *

_

Accord, looks absolutely bizarre. The burning red and black mixed perfectly with the glowing white and blue ice. Only made you wonder.

Same as before, like with Metropolis, the Matchitehew entered a perfect geo-synchronize orbit around the planet. Fox could only stare at the planet, as Krystal stood next to him, his arm wrapped around her.

"Now this is a planet you don't see often." Ryan said, as he prepared the shuttle we were taking down there. It was basically similar to the Cobalt, if you recall was destroyed after the meeting in Sector Z.

Fox watched everyone getting ready to go down on the planet, knowing full well that this was going to be an interesting part of the hunt. We weren't expecting to find Cain down there and my sixth sense was detecting him. My only thought, he wasn't there.

"Come on, babe. Let's get a move on." "Yeah yeah. I'm coming." Krystal said, as she followed Fox towards the ship.

Everyone sat inside, as Fox and Adrian were the pilots for this bird. Everyone had mixed emotions as I could hear the engines powering up. Some were excited to go visit this planet. Some were nervous, mainly because they didn't know what to expect. Wolf and I, just sat there, just along for the ride while thinking about nothing.

I secluded myself from everyone else, I felt that after what's been happening with me. I just wanted to be alone. Zeria looked sad when I told her that, but she understood.

"Alright, everyone. Lift off in one." Fox yelled, as he gave the hovering thrusters power, as the shuttle started to lift off the floor. Then Adrian gave power to the forward thrusters, pushing the ship forward, exiting the hanger bay.

Space looked beautiful, the blackness of space sharing the universe with billions of glowing stars. Something however caught my attention as I looked out the window. One star in particular, it was glowing brighter than any star. And it looked like it was winking at me.

"Entering the atmosphere in five!" Adrian yelled, as he prepared the ship in the sudden increase in temperature and resistance. I just continued to stare out the window, watching that star wink at me, before it vanished by the sudden glow of red.

"How you feeling, kid?" I jumped a little, wasn't expecting anyone to sit next to me, but when I turned my head, I saw it was Ryan sitting next to me. I let out a heavy sigh, trying to think of the right words.

"Hard to say right now." "Ah. I know how you are feeling. You may be thinking of something different, but I still understand what you are saying." "What helps you put yourself at ease, to relax?"

"Relax? Oh. Haha. Nothing better than to calm you down than a nice glass of Jager." After I heard that, I just lowered my head into my hands, shaking back and forth. "You're going to give yourself liver cancer, Cooper."

"Fox said the same thing to me once. I just can't help it. I love the stuff too much." "As much as Fay and your kid?" "Now look here. Those are two different thing. Jager is a drink. Guys love drinks. May be water. May be vodka. Your case. Whiskey."

"I hate whiskey." "From what Zeria said, you were enjoying the stuff too much." I just glared at him, as he just backed off slightly. "I was drinking that shit to put my troubles away. When I said that, I was drunk. God, do I regret doing that."

"Eh. Drinking isn't too bad….when you're drinking socially with friends and not to put your troubles away." "Didn't put them away that's for sure."

"You'll be fine, kid. You'll see. You'll soon come to realization that everything that burdens you right now, will all just disappear and you'll be a happier wolf." "I hope you're right. Living like this sucks."

Ryan just laughed as he patted my shoulder. "Trust me, kid. Every one of us has been through what you are going through. May not be as bad as you, but we been there. Takes time to heal. You'll heal." "Thanks for the reassurance." "Wow. I think you're the first person to ever thank me?" "Don't expect it too often."

"Well. It was nice to be thanked." Ryan said, laughing as he looked out the window, seeing the dark, cloudy sky. "I can only imagine what this planet has in store for us."

I turned to look out the window and saw we were passing through the clouds. The clouds were so think of ash and sulfur that the turbulence was worse than it was on Metropolis. I only prayed that the engines wouldn't stall from the lack of fresh air.

"Thank God the engines didn't stall from the lack of fresh air." I muttered to myself, as I finally saw land for the first time on this planet. As the moment, we were passing over a border separating the fire and ice. The border were mountains, but what made it weird was. The lava flowed in one direction, while ice covered the other half.

"Accord, indeed." Miyu said, as she was leaning over Krystal, while looking out the window. "This may be the one thing Slippy would love to see." Krystal said, as she couldn't help, but smile at the majestic terrain beneath her. "Hey, Fox. Maybe we should get Peppy and Beltino over here?"

"You serious?" "Yeah. I mean. Don't you think they would love to see this and do some research to figure out how this planet was made?" "I suppose we could. We call them now, they could get here in maybe…umm…tomorrow." "Sounds good." "Yeah. Right."

Fox immediately pulled out his phone and started to call up Peppy, while everyone else continued to stare out the window, watching the land get closer and closer. "I don't know why you decide to call now, but no worries. I can handle the landing." Adrian said, sounding very annoyed.

"Yeah. You're doing fine." Fox replied, sounding like he wasn't interested in what Adrian just told him. "Bastard." Adrian muttered to himself, but however. Fox turned towards him, glaring deeply at him, a look filled with anger. Adrian did his best to ignore it.

"Boy, Zeria. That sure was a lot of fun, wasn't it? As much fun as drinking?" Matt said, patting the young vixen's shoulder. "What? Keep that drinking shit away from me."

"Oh come on. You're still not mad about me getting you drunk, are you?" SMACK! "Son of a bitch. Why'd you hit me in the arm?" "Does that answer you question?" "I'm afraid to say 'no.'" CLUNK! "Mother fucker! Cut it out! Yes. That answers my question now stop hurting me!"

Zeria smiled devilishly at Matt, as she turned her head towards the front of the ship. Matt just scooted as far away from her as possible, which only was maybe a couple inches.

I sat diagonally from them and all I could do was smile. "_Boy, she's something."_ I thought to myself, as I turned to stare out the window.

"_Unidentified craft. This is Accord Main Base. Please acknowledge." _"Roger, Main Base. This is shuttle craft, Mercury. Requesting landing clearance." "_Roger, Mercury. You're about five miles out. Should be here in a minute. Land in Field Six. Plenty of room there." _"Thank you, Main Base. Looking forward to your hospitality." "_Yeah, right."_

We all stared at the radio, unable to believe that we just got a response like that. Even Fox turned away from his phone, staring at it, before he brought his attention back to Peppy.

"_Alright, Fox. Sounds like you really want us there. I'll have Claudia look after the kids for you. Beltino, Slippy and I will be on our way and arrive by tomorrow's eight hundred hours." _"Sounds good, old man. Look forward to seeing you."

"Hang on, kids! This is my favorite type of landing." Adrian said, pulling back on the joystick and increasing the throttle simultaneously, causing the ship's nose to rise and come to a complete halt.

Then the ship landed softly on its landing claws, as Adrian just shutdown the ship, feeling proud of his signature landing. "Stop acting arrogant. You have nothing to be arrogant about." Fox said, as he crawled out of the captain's chair.

"What? You kidding me? I bet you couldn't do that type of landing." "Don't tempt me, Adrian. I come to recall a bet you and Cooper took against me and Zeria, which you lost." He said, winking at Zeria as he past her.

"Oh come on. That was a shooting contest. This is flying. Not even Zeria could do that." "You wanna bet?" "No. She's your prodigy. You probably taught her everything." Adrian said defeated, as he held out his hand so Miyu would stand up easier.

"Smart move. Come on, Krystal. Let's get this show on the road. I'm feeling hot and cold just by looking at the landscape." "Coming, honey."

"Well, Fara. You ready to embrace what wild weather we are about to witness?" "I bet it's going to be freezing out there. I just have that feeling, Wolf." "It's not going to be pretty, I know that."

"I bet it's going to be perfect. Seventy-two degrees." I said, sounding confident as I rose from my seat. "How about we stop betting and open the FUCKING DOOR?!" Katt yelled, causing everyone to flinch at her.

Matt just leaned close to her, eyeing her as she did the same with him. "Chill, babe." "Shut up, Matt. Or I won't perform good tonight in bed." Almost at the same exact time, Zeria and I lowered our heads and started to shake back and forth.

"Matt. I didn't need to hear that." "Yeah, me neither." "Come on, children. It's not as bad as it sounds. I'm sure you two will end up fucking each other." SMACK! "FUCK! Who threw that?"

"I did. Don't talk to her like that. She's practically my daughter, you dill-hole." Fox threatened Matt, after he had just thrown a book at him. "No one here can take a joke. You're all too serious. I can see where Zeria got her attitude from."

"Just shut up, Matt and no more pain will be inflicted upon you." He growled, as he just shut up then and there. "Good boy."

"What I tell ya? Perfect." I said, as I stepped onto the tarmac of the airfield, my arms spend out, embracing the perfect weather that I had predicted. Don't know how, but perfect.

"How do you suppose we get over to that city, upon yonder?" Ryan said, as he pointed at the city, which was on the other side of a ravine, separating the city and the base. "You take them air taxis there."

We all turned around towards the random voice, revealing to be a rat. "What you doing to the ship?" Fox asked. "Well. I got to register the ship in the logs, don't I ?" He said, while he was smoking a cigarette.

"Whatever. Thanks for the info." Wolf said, as he waved at the rat as he was walking towards the air taxis. "No prob."

"What a nice guy." Fay said, as she walked parallel with Ryan. "I thought so." He replied to her, as he kissed her forehead.

As we were walking, I could help, but stopping. The one who seemed to have noticed was Zeria, as she stopped and walked towards me. I stared out to my left, towards the city. "You okay?"

I didn't respond at first, I just stared out at the city. "Something isn't right. I got a feel that something bad is going to happen." "Well, for everyone's benefit, I hope you're wrong." She said, sounding a bit worried since I said that.

"Don't say I didn't warn you if something bad does happen." I said to her, as she looked at me, now afraid of what could happen. "I just hope it doesn't happen to you." I muttered to myself.

"What?" "Come on. We're falling behind." Changing the subject as I grabbed her as I started to jog to catch up. She jogged besides me, but she had a fear now. I was with her.

* * *

As we took a taxi over to the city, I couldn't help, but stare at how predated this craft was. It was still running on propellers. Though, it did look sound and sturdy, but I had a feeling that I was going to break through the floor.

The other thing was that it was too small. We had to take three taxis, but each of them were going to a different part of the city. We all agreed to just continue our search as soon as we arrived. Somehow, I got paired up with Fox, Krystal, Wolf, Fara and Zeria.

"Sweet. Now I get to see the kid in action. After what I heard from Bill on Metropolis, I want to see if you blow a fuse again." Wolf said, as he sounded enthusiastic about working with me. "I'll make sure this time that person is you."

"Don't get wise, kid." He answered back, pointing a finger at me. "Get that finger out of my face or I'll bite it off." "You got to learn how to relax, kid. Look at me, one look at me and I bet you think I'm a well-relaxed person, right?"

"No. You look like someone that holds a grudge for many years after losing many times to your rival." Fox couldn't help, but laugh as Wolf turned around to stare at him. "That was good, Jeff. Good." Fox said, patting my shoulder, still laughing.

"Shut up, Fox." "Alright, kids." Krystal said forcefully, causing everyone to look at her. "Thank you. We better stay on our toes with this because I'm detecting something not right about this place."

Fox took a moment to sense the area, but wasn't able to find anything out of the ordinary, but he knew better than to go against his wife's telepathy. "Alright, dear. Lock and load your weapons. Kid, I really wish you wouldn't carry that SAW around. Plus the sword strapped to your back. Fuck, you trying to attract some attention?"

"If we get into a heavy gun fight, you'll be thanking me for having this." "Just pay attention. If we do, looks like you don't have many belts for it." "I got five belts underneath my coat. Relax, like Wolf here." I said, turning my head towards him, while smiling. "Fuck off, kid. You're a real smartass."

Everything jerked forward, as the taxi came to a sudden stop. Everyone checked their weapons, I pulled back on the action of my rifle, the rifle now ready to fire when I squeeze the trigger.

We all stepped out of the taxi, and saw a rush of people walking into the taxi, completely ignoring the fact that we were carrying weapons. They seemed to be in such a hurry, they didn't care.

"So? What we going to do? Walk together in a big group or split up?" I said, scanning the area, as people were doing various things inside the station. "I don't know. Let's see what everything looks like outside, before we do anything drastic." Fox replied, checking his dagger and revolver.

We started walking towards the exit, people still not paying much attention to us. Made me feel nervous about what laid ahead. As I checked the face's of my group, the one I feared for was Zeria, who had a worried look on her face.

As we walked down the stairs, some people finally noticed us, mainly me, as I was so well armed. A badger, leaned up against the wall, trying to stay as far away as possible from me, as I just stared at him.

"Easy, kid. We don't want any attention just yet." Wolf said, patting my shoulder. "I'm calm. I was just looking." "By the look on your face, seemed like you were going to do something stupid. Just wanted to make sure your calm." "I'm calm. Relax, O'Donnell."

Fara just giggled a little at our conversation, before speaking up. "I wonder how Leon would take this." "Take what?" "You making a new friend. Just the way you two talk to each other. I find it amusing and I wonder if Leon would too."

"Leon Powalski?" I asked, Wolf nodding in response. "He probably be glaring at you right now, kid. Be happy he ain't here."

We stepped out of the station, onto the streets and saw the neighborhood we were in. It reminded us a bit like Detroit, only cleaner. Wasn't as rundown as Detroit was, and the ghettos of Amp. The best way to describe was, it looked old, but it was clean.

"Alright. Sorry, Fox. Don't mean to take command, but from what I'm sensing. Something is here and I don't like it. I think we should stick together?" Fox looked at Krystal, then scanned the city.

"I know better than to go against your telepathy. Mine may be stronger, but you sense things that I can't." Fox said, stopping for a moment as a avian walked by, staring at his metal face. He glared at him, but ignored it for now.

"Alright. Let's think though. Where can we go that would be a good place to start?" "The park?" Fara suggested, I nodded in agreement. "I think Fara's right. When I was seventeen, I always went to the park. It felt like it calmed me, but I always see people doing some sort of drug."

"This was in Corneria City, right?" "Yeah, why, Fox?" "Because I remember seeing a pack of wolves smoking marijuana. Hope one of them wasn't you." I shook my head. "Never touched the shit."

"Alright." Fox said, looking up at the darkened sky, by the same time. Watched the sun sit in place, like it wasn't moving. Even though, it was ever so slowly. "Alright. Let's find some mode of transportation and head over there. Does sound like a good place to start."

* * *

"I have never seen a planet like this. This is nuts." Ryan said, staring up at the dark sky, with the bright sun peeking through. "So? Where do we start?" Fay asked, as she wrapped her hand into Ryan's.

"Let's think like the kid for a minute. A guy his age, where would most people, besides their homes and alleys and that shit. Where would most guys do drugs?" Adrian asked, pacing back and forth, as Miyu just watched him.

"How about the park?" Electra asked, getting a nod from Adrian. "Yeah. I don't know why, but people always seem to wanna smoke in the park. What's the nearest park to us?"

"Who knows. None of us have been here before." Matt said, scanning around the neighborhood they were in, basically resembling the neighborhood Fox's team was in. He finally found a map, just inside the station. "Hey. Let's look here."

Everyone gathered around Matt, as he pointed at the map. His finger was directly over the station we were at, then searched for the closest park. He led his finger east of the station, about two miles away.

"Here. This public park in the middle of this section of the city." "That's a two mile walk. I say we hail a cab or go rent a car." "There's eight of us. We need to take a few cabs."

"Taxi!" Katt yelled, extending her hand to wave a cab over, but then she kept waving, until three cabs were in line with each. Everyone just stared at her. "Come on. Let's go."

"Well, I could've done that!" Ryan yelled, as he watched Katt enter one of the taxis. "Well, you didn't, Cooper. Give it a rest." Matt said, following his wife. "People don't listen to me." Cooper continued, as Fay just eyed him.

"You complain too much." She said, opening the door into a cab. He just turned his head towards his wife, glaring. "You're my wife. You should agree with me." "This is more fun."

* * *

The bus arrived right on schedule as we pulled up to the entrance to the park. From what everyone saw looking out the window, it seemed like a peaceful place to go play and relax, but in the far corner, near a bridge, seemed a little run down.

We all stepped off the bus, people taking extra precaution of me because I was carrying a big rifle. For right now, I swung it around my back, so now it hung parallel with my sword.

I could hear laughter as kids played on the playground, sandpits, or just running around to try and catch each other. The ladies seemed to be smiling at the sight of the kids, reminded them of their own children.

When I looked over at Zeria, she looked like she felt empty. She wasn't a mother yet so she didn't understand the joy of having a kid.

After a few seconds, I walked ahead of the group, Wolf following closely behind me. Our minds were on that bridge, we couldn't help, but think that people over there were doing drugs.

Wolf opened his coat, pulling out a rifle. It was the latest model of weaponry. It looked like a rifle, had the accuracy of one and had the power of a shotgun. So, you could be one hundred yards away, but it would decimate a guy who was standing right in front of you with a shotgun. Actually, it's funny I said decimate, because the weapon is called the Decimator.

"When did you get that gun?" I asked him, pulling out my SAW, locking the action into fire-ready mode. "About a month ago. Saw it in a gun shop and I couldn't pass it up. Imagine, the range and accuracy of a rifle, with the power of a shotgun?"

"Sounds to me that the guy you end up shooting, his innards will be blasted out of his body." I said, scanning the area, making sure that no one was watching us.

"I wouldn't be surprised, kid. Plus it's a plasma shot. And has the power to be semi-automatic. I'm happy with my choice." "Well. Make sure you persuade people with it. We're coming up to that bridge I saw."

Wolf looked to his left slightly, seeing the old bridge. He looked down at his rifle, next to the trigger, was a cartridge cylinder. He grabbed it, spun it slightly to the right, hearing a click, then pulled it towards him. Hearing another click, but upon doing so. The weapon glowed green. Fire-ready mode.

I looked behind us and saw everyone holding a weapon of some sort, mainly pistols. The one I recognized most was Fox's revolver.

I looked forward and saw a group of canines. Some were wolves, jackals, hyenas, a doberman and a rottweiler. About seventeen of them, all of them were doing drugs. From what Fox and Krystal could sense, all of them were carrying weapons, most were illegal.

I didn't need telepathy to figure that out, as I could see the weapons, either laying against the bridge, or they were carrying them.

They stopped what they were doing and looked up at us. Immediately, one of them, a jackal, walked towards us. "What do you homies want?"

Fox moved his way towards the front, Wolf and I watching the group for any sudden movements towards their guns. "We're here looking for someone."

"Well. We're all someone. Is it us you're looking for?" "No. None of you are mastiffs. So I got nothing against you, but I would like to ask some questions?"

"A mastiff? You wouldn't by any chance be looking for Randall Cain now would you?" The three of us never flinched, Fara and Zeria moved ever so slightly, but were noticeable to the group of dogs. Krystal, remained strong like Fox.

"Yeah. I saw you two babes move. What you got against him?" Wolf did not appreciate hearing Fara being called a babe and threatened to charge him, but I grabbed his arm, shaking my head no. He growled and stared at the jackal with piercing eyes.

"You guys willing to cooperate with us or do we have to persuade you guys?" "Well, geez dawg. I'm just asking a question. There's no law against asking questions, is there? I always heard the only stupid thing to do is not ask questions."

"You guys are stalling. Where is he?" Fox said, changing his voice to sound very threatening. "I don't know where he is, but why should I tell you?" "You're interfering with bounty hunters of Lylat. We have to take you down if we feel like it."

"Well, dawg. This ain't Lylat. You forget where you are? These are the Outer Cinco planets. You're a long way from home." He said, reaching for something. "HEY! Drop it!" I threatened, walking besides Fox, my gun trained on his head.

"A SAW? Rare guns. Where'd you find one?" "Macbeth." "No wonder. Macbeth is known for having things of mass rarities." "Don't change the subject. Where is Cain?" Fox said, staring at the jackal, his optic implant now glowing red.

"Go to hell!" He yelled, pulling out his gun, not enough time to aim it, as I fired a shot right through his head. The rest of his gang, immediately pulled out their weapons, firing at us, as we ran to hide behind a secure location.

In the distance, I could hear screaming of kids as they ran towards their parents, trying to get away from the fire fight.

I hid behind a rock, Krystal next to me, I waited for the right moment to fire, but then I started noticing my surroundings. This may be a nice park, but its in the dead epicenter of gang land. "Oh fuck us."

'What?" Krystal said, firing her pistol, then ducking back behind the rock we were behind. "Look around you. I can feel it. More guys are going to be coming to fight us." Krystal looked at me, then started scanning the area. "Oh fuck us."

"Argh!" I yelled, as I fired a burst of bullets at the bridge entrance. "_Krystal? You got the Gatling Gun?"_ Krystal never responded, unable to comprehend how, but the blue vixen pulled out a massive Gatling Gun out of thin air.

I looked over at the rest of the group, I saw Wolf firing random shots, but each shot he made, was probably doing more damage than anything. The plasma round tore away a chunk of the bridge each time he fired.

I jumped out from behind the rock, releasing another barrage of bullets, taking down two of the dogs, a wolf and a hyena. I laughed as I saw them fall, but yelled in pain as I collapsed to the ground, staring at my arm.

"Son of a bitch!" I yelled, watching blood drip down my arm. I looked up and saw a large group of people, varies species of animals, charging us, from the north, the south and west. We were surrounded.

I started firing, even though my arm was having a hard time moving. I grunted in pain, as Krystal took out a piece of cloth, about to wrap it around my arm, but couldn't help, but stare.

"What?" I grunted, cringing my teeth in pain. She stared at my blood, it was red, but it was mixed with green. She looked into my eyes. "It's from the radiation. It altered my blood. Wrap it already!"

She didn't hesitate any longer, as she wrapped my arm, stopping the blood for the time being. She them lifted her Gatling Gun, releasing hell upon the gang members, not surviving long enough as the fast weapon tore them apart.

* * *

"We almost there?" Adrian yelled, as he sat impatiently in his seat. "Yeah. Hold on. We just need to pass these buildings and we'll be there." The driver said, getting annoyed by Adrian.

Miyu stared out the window, feeling the cool breeze against her fur, but something was catching her attention. There was a noise in the background, like a tapping or something close to it.

She looked around, unable to figure out what that noise was, but it was getting louder. All of a sudden, the driver screeched to a halt, Miyu bashing her head on the door. "What the fuck?"

She said, staring at the driver, but when she looked forward, along with everyone else, they saw gunfire in front of them. Firing towards the park. Everyone was so hypnotized, they didn't even notice that the two other taxis behind them rear-ended them and each other.

"What the fuck did you stop for?" The driver in the second taxi yelled as he got out of the vehicle, but stopped when he saw the fight. Everyone got out of their cars, unable to believe what they were seeing. They couldn't imagine who was the victims, but Adrian had a feeling it was the rest of the team.

Ryan just looked forward, to concentrate. He started pacing back and forth, trying to figure how he could help whoever was being fired upon. His eyes lit up when he stared at the three taxis, two Crown Victorias and a Caprice.

"Guys. Get in. We're going to drive these vehicles and help whoever is in there." "Like hell you are! I already got into an accident once this month already, I'm not going to let you destroy another." The cab driver said, but immediately backed off.

Ryan held his pistol, pointing at him, very persuasive. Everyone agreed and got into a cab. Shifting into Drive, they took off down the road, leaving a smoky trails behind.

* * *

I continued to hide behind that rock, but it was only protecting me in one direction and that was from the canines underneath the bridge. I continued to fire a series of bullets at everyone I considered an enemy, but everything was Hell right now.

I turned towards Krystal, a scared look on her face as she fired her Gatling Gun. I looked at everyone behind another rock on the other side of the path. Fox and Wolf had a look that could pierce through lead. Fara, showing strength, but I knew she was scared. Zeria, looked petrified.

Without realizing it, sparks flew right in front of my face, I jumped as I fell to the ground on my ass. I thought it could've been a bullet hitting the rock, causing the spark, but then I saw my worst nightmare.

When I looked down, there was a bullet hole in my SAW, damaging the triggering mechanisms. "Shit!" I yelled, tossing my rifle aside and pulling out my pistol. Krystal turned and saw the gun, then at me.

"It'll get repaired. If we survive this." She said, I just nodded in response. I continued to fire, along with everyone else, but then something caught all of our attentions.

I scanned the area, trying to figure out what was that new noise, sounded like tires squealing. I looked left of the bridge, a group of gang members were slowly turning around, just in time to see a car drive over the hill.

They began to fire upon the car, a yellow taxi, as it struggled to stay on course. No one lasted long enough as the car ran over three members, killing them instantly as they either flew over the car, or were trampled underneath.

Two more taxis appeared over the hill, doing the same thing, but one of them, a Caprice, had his tires shot and starting spinning out of control. It crashed into the bridge, flipping it onto its roof, as it fell to the path below. Crushing a couple canines. The first taxi I saw, lost control after it caught a deep pothole in the grass, causing that one to spin out and crashed head on into a tree.

The last taxi I saw, another Crown Victoria was the only one that was able to stop with no problems. It slid to a stop right next to Fox and all of them. It made me smile when I saw who was in it.

"Fox! It's so good to see you!" Bill yelled, as he ran around the front of the car to hide behind the rock with Electra, Matt and Katt. When I saw the taxi that crashed into the thee, I saw Adrian and Miyu run out. Ryan and Fay slowly crawled out of the flipped cab, looking like they were hurting.

"Freeze!" I stopped, mentally kicking myself as I let my guard down, allowing a few gang members to approach Krystal and I from behind. She tried to bring her gun around, but I grabbed it, preventing her.

She stared with a stunned look at me, I just shook my head. "Stand up and give me that sword!" One of them said, a scorpion. As he reached down to grab the handle, with lightning speed, I reached for my weapon and sliced the head off.

I hastily ran over to the two remaining members, with a fluent slice of the sword, I was able to slice off the heads of both members. I looked down and saw that the heads were of a fox and a jackal.

Krystal just stared at me, unable to comprehend the speed she just witnessed. When I looked up at Fox and them, they were as stunned as her. I sheathed my sword and picked up two SMGs from the beheaded bastards.

"How'd you move so fast?" Krystal said to me, continuing to fire her weapon. "I got my ways." I replied, firing the SMGs.

Everyone continued to fire, watching as we were able to slowly bring down the numbers of animals that were trying to kill us. I looked at my team, scared shitless, but still fighting strong.

I looked down at my arm, red and green stained my green fur. Then I shifted my gaze over to my useless rifle, couldn't believe it. Such a great gun, now it was damaged. "Fuck me."

"What?" Krystal yelled, as she slightly shifted her eyes towards me. "Nothing. Just fire."

On top of the hill, I see one guy, just standing there, holding something that was resting on his shoulder. It had a point at the tip of it, what weapon has a tip at the…….."Oh fuck! WOLF! Take out the bazooka!"

Wolf turned his head to look at me, but then saw me pointing my finger off in the distance. He followed my finger, leading up to the guy with the bazooka, as he was now about to fire. "Oh God."

He quickly trained his sights onto the bazooka, holding avian. The same one that Fox glared at as we walked out of the station. He only had a few seconds to react, before the guy was satisfied on his target.

He moved the crosshairs, aiming directly at the guy's leg. His thought, shoot the leg, the guy will delay his shot. He squeezed the trigger, the round exploding its way out of the long barrel.

Only took, maybe a half second before the avian fell to the ground, the round penetrating the skin of his leg. He yelled in pain, just as Wolf had predicted, as he now trained the crosshair onto the guy's head.

He took in a deep breath, steadying his sights, countering for the wind and arc. He squeezed the trigger, another exploding round shooting from the barrel, hitting the avian right between the eyes. The bazooka fell helplessly to the ground, releasing its projectile.

Everyone feared as they watched the missile heading for then, but something caused it to raise in altitude, flying directly over me. "Fuck!"

I heard a loud explosion, killing off the guys behind me. I quickly turned around, seeing guys flying through the air and hitting the ground a few seconds later, being set on fire from either the explosion or the grass being on fire itself.

I turned back around, giving Krystal a quick nod, as she continued to lay down lengthy barrage of bullets from her Gatling.

I turned to my left, Adrian and Miyu were ducking behind their wrecked car, firing off shots, slowly lowering the number of fighters that were against us.

Without really thinking, I took off running in the opposite direction, towards the direction of the bazooka aftermath.

Guys were down, either dead or injured. If they were alive….Well. I guarantee to you that they are in a LOT of pain. Though, I couldn't help, but feel sorry for the poor bastards. I mean, they aren't associates of Cain. They are just drug lovers that worship him for the shit he provides.

"_Enough, Jeff. Don't start being a Nancy. Stop this fight. I bet those kids and mothers are scared as fuck."_ I told myself, trying to get my mind back into the fight.

When I turned forward, I saw that the rest of the gang members merged together to form one large group, on the other side of the bridge, just up the hill. From what I could see, there's maybe only sixteen left. Looking around, I'd say the only ones that will need to visit a hospital is Ryan and Fay, who were in the taxi that flipped over the bridge.

I raised my pistol, aiming the best I could with my one good eye. As I like to call it, the far sight eye. Which is my left. Even then, my vision wasn't able to get a perfect picture. Oh well, I did the best I could.

I squeezed the trigger, watching the bullet fly out of the barrel, making contact with a lizards right part of his upper torso, possibly hitting him in the lungs.

As I searched for my next target, I saw a three round burst of plasma fire, which distracted me. When I turned, it was Wolf firing his rifle, taking out three targets with his three round burst. "_Damn. Good shots."_

I turned forward again, acquiring my next victim, a crab? Now, that is unusual. How is he holding a gun with his claws? Makes absolutely no sense. Still went down easily, kinda weird though. I figured his shell would provide excellent armor. Guess not.

All that occurred as I fired a shot through the crab's head. I stared at him, as I saw him fall to the ground, with fragments of the shell protecting the backside of his head, along with parts of his brain.

I stared at my gun, saw that it was now out of ammunition. I pushed the mag release, watching it slide out of the weapon, falling to the ground, before I pulled another magazine out of my pocket, quickly jamming it into the weapon, pulling the action to get ready to fire once again.

However, when I went to go aim again, a sigh of relief hit me. The remaining gangs, about nine of them left, were starting to flee. They finally realized after starting off with about forty of them, couldn't take on a smaller number.

Fox turned his head to stare at all of us, nodding as he got ready to fire everything that was left in his revolver.

I watched everyone raised their weapons, almost in unison, as I followed, having now a fresh magazine in my gun. I planned to use every round.

Fox never gave the order, he just started firing round after round, along with everyone else, as we all watched the remaining nine fall to the ground, their blood staining the lawn underneath them.

Silence now filled the park, not even cries and yells from fleeing families. No. They left about ten minutes ago. Ten minutes? Wait, this fight lasted about fifteen to twenty.

Fox got out from behind his rock, running towards the two injured canines. Ryan was hovering over Fay, who looked like she was hurting bad. "We got to get her to a hospital. That fall took a beating on her." Ryan explained, as he stared at his wife, who was on the verge of consciousness.

"I don't think she'll die, but looks like the fall gave her a pretty good concussion. Come on. The hospital is like a couple miles away, I think. Krystal! We're going with Ryan and Fay. Wolf, get this area locked down and secured."

"You got it, pup." Wolf said, as he helped Fay into the backseat of the taxi cab that remained intact. The others were totaled if you recall.

Krystal ran towards the leaving group, getting into the front seat, as Ryan took the back, holding his wife, her head laying on his shoulder. "Move it, Fox." "On it."

Fox pulled the shifter into Drive, the car taking off out of the park, leaving a pair of tire trails in the soft dirt.

Bill looked at the area, seeing the bullets holes and fires everywhere. This once nice park, was now the remains of a war zone. His attention was distracted as he saw Adrian and Miyu approaching them.

"You guys okay? That tree looked like it would've hurt." "We're fine. Not as bad as the flip over the bridge." Miyu explained, as she wiped her hand across her brow, noting a streak of red on her red.

"Your head is bleeding. You need to go to the hospital too?" Fara asked, as she walked up to Miyu, looking at the cut, which didn't look too bad. It was just a lot of blood and it made it look worse than it did.

"I'll be fine." She assured everyone, convincing Adrian.

I turned to look at Zeria, who looked pale from all the death she had seen right now. She looked up, seeing me looking at her and al she did was smile and nod. I nodded back, as I pulled out my sword, along with a piece of cloth, as I wiped the blade clean.

"Nice sword skill back there, kid. Impressive." Wolf said, starting at the blade, which now started to glisten in the sunlight. Well, whatever sunlight there was.

"First time I got to use it in battle. Happy to use it finally." I said, as I spun the blade, sliding it back into its sheath.

"I saw what happened to your SAW. You think it'll be okay?" Bill asked, as he walked back towards the group, my rifle in his hands. I turned to stare at it, immediately my face changing to disgust.

"Mother fuckers. Gonna take me a day to repair this. Hopefully. That is if this place has a good weapons shop." "Just wait til we get back to the Matchitehew. I'm sure Fox has the supplies you'll need in his armory." Wolf said, reloading another chamber into his rifle.

"Come on, guys. Let's clear out this area and go to the hospital to check on Fay." Electra ordered, which we all followed because she was right. Cops would be coming soon and we have to assure the people that this wouldn't happen again. Plus, we all were curious about Fay.

* * *

Ryan sat in the chair at his wife's side, a hour later after they had arrived at the hospital. As he stared at his wife, he couldn't help, but stare at the content smile on her sleeping face.

He couldn't help, but smile at her. His hand gliding through her soft, white hair. He was just happy that his wife was okay. Though, he promised himself. As long as she remains in that hospital bed, he didn't plan on walking away until she was at his side.

Matt and Katt watched the two love-birds, as they smiled for two reasons. Knowing that Fay was okay, receiving a concussion when she banged her head against the car when it flipped on its lid. And just how happy the two seemed together, even though Fay was asleep.

Wolf and Zeria were with me, watching the doctors finish stitching up my arm. I completely forgot that I was shot. I now had a nice, long cut, about three inches across my upper arm, missed the bone thankfully. Sucks that this happened to me.

"How does that feel, Mr. Meiners?" The frog doctor said, as he just finished wrapping my arm in a bandage, making sure it was nice and tight to stop further bleeding and infection. Though, not too tight to cut off the circulation.

I bent my arm at the elbow, feeling the muscles flex at each movement. I felt a sting, but the wrapping was nice and secure. I nodded at him, as he walked out of the room, a smile on his face.

"How you feeling, kid?" Wolf asked, as he walked into the room, staring at my bandaged, right arm.

"Good actually. Forgot that I was hit. Never felt any pain until a nurse saw the bullet wound. Started laughing when I saw the bloody arm."

"You're nuts, kid. Take it easy for a while." Wolf said, patting my shoulder as he walked out of the room, leaving Zeria and I by ourselves.

"You alright?" I asked her, as I got off my bed, reaching for my leather coat on a chair in the corner of the room.

"I'm fine. Still a little shaken up by the gunfight, but I'll be fine. You okay? I got worried when I noticed your arm."

"I appreciate the worry, but no need. It's cool. Just can't wait for the next fight." "You're serious, aren't you?"

"Of course. That was fun. I enjoyed that." "God. You're just like every guy on the team." "Thank you." I said to her with a smile, as I walked past her, exiting the room, with her right behind me.

As we walked down the hall, I saw Bill and Electra standing next to Matt and Katt, who continued to watch Ryan sitting next to Fay.

"She gonna be okay?" I asked Electra, as she was the closest to me as I approached the group. She turned to look at me, a smile on her face as she nodded. "She has a concussion, but she should be fine by tomorrow morning."

I nodded, as I turned my head to look at the sleeping spaniel, with the husky she loved, by her side.

He saw all of us looking at them, giving us a nod as Fox and Krystal made their way down the hall. "Maybe you should get some sleep, Cooper. You don't want to sit in that wooden chair all night, do ya?" Matt asked, taking a step into the room.

"I do. I want to be here when she wakes up." Ryan said, turning back to look at his wife, stroking her hand with his thumb.

"Well. We are going to try and find a hotel to sleep in. We'll call you when we check into somewhere. In case you decide to join us." Bill said, starting to walk down the hall, Electra at his side.

"Appreciate guys. Talk to you later." "Later." We all started walking down the hall, leaving the husky alone with his wife.

* * *

"This is a fucking bitch, I swear." I muttered to myself, disassembling my SAW, seeing if I could determine what exactly was shot. When I finally got the thing apart, I noticed the spring was destroyed, otherwise. The damage was minimal. I sighed with relief.

Fox and Krystal laid down on their bed, watching some good television. A show many of you may know as "Top Gear". (Note: Top Gear is a great show about cars and has funny British humor. If you get the channel it is on, I suggest you watch it. You'll love it.)

I occasionally would glance up, watch a few seconds of the show, before I would look back down, trying to fix my beloved machine gun.

Zeria sat on the opposite bed of Fox and Krystal, watching the show with them, as she munched on some chips she got from the vending machine just down the hall.

"How's the repair coming along, kid?" Krystal said, getting a laugh from Fox, as this was probably her first she called me 'kid'. I pulled out the remains of the shot spring, before I answered.

"Give me a few minutes and I got this thing working again. I just hope it doesn't get shot again. A weapon can only take so much." I said, grunting as I cut my hand on a jagged edge.

"Careful, Jeff. You don't want to get stitches again, do ya?" Fox said, grinning at my mishap. "Go fuck yourself, old man." I said, grabbing some tissue, wrapping my thumb.

He got pretty angry at being called 'old man'. When he felt a hand on his shoulder, seeing it was Krystal, he let it slide for now, but he wasn't going to be happy with me.

A knocking soon overcame the television, as me being the closest to the door. I decided I would be nice enough to answer it. When I stepped up to the door, looking through the small peep hole, I saw it was Bill. Curious why he is here. I, of course, let him in.

"Hey, kid. Fox here?" I just stared at him, hooking my thumb backwards, towards the beds, which is where he was. Bill walked past, patting my shoulder as he did. I just turned my head, following him as he entered he room.

"Hey, Fox. I got a call from Beltino a couple minutes ago. He said he just arrived at the anti-warp bubble and said he'll arrive at about nine tomorrow with Peppy and Slippy."

"Sounds good to me. Hope Fay will be ready to leave tomorrow. Hopefully before noon. We got to make our journey to Zar Mega tomorrow."

"Ah. Sounds like fun. I'm excited to see that mark you made during our first encounter." "What?"

"Oh yeah, kid. You weren't here, but I'm sure maybe you heard some story about it." "No. I can honestly say that I haven't. You guys haven't really told me anything about your first mission."

"Well. When we first got away from Lector, our cover being blown? Well, we had to do a premature jump to get away before we were destroyed. It took us light years away from Lylat and the ship jumped to the planet Zar Mega. However, everyone was hurting and so was the Matchitehew.

Ryan was the first to wake up and he saw that the ship was hurtling towards the planet. He woke me up and I did everything I could to get the engines running. Finally, by the time they fired. We were only miles above the surface. The last few thousand feet, I fired the afterburners and the ship slowly rose back towards space.

However, there is a three mile long trail that was left behind from the afterburners. So, it's like you have a sheet of green paper and someone drew a black line on it. Best way to describe it."

I just stared at Fox, taking in the story he told me and I did my best to visualize the image in my head. To just make it simple for me, I took my arm and a black pen. I laid the pen on my arm and stared at what I saw.

"Makes sense to me. How much did you have before the ship crashed onto the surface?"

"If I recall. Only three hundred feet. Not a lot of space. We got lucky." Krystal explained, a smile on her face as she was still knocked out during that time, but when she heard it. She couldn't help, but shake her head in disbelief.

"Let's see. It's eight right now. I say we meet in the lobby tomorrow at about eight. Meet Peppy and all them and then we'll head over to go see if Ryan and Fay are ready to go.

"Sounds good to me. Well, I just stopped by to tell you this. I'm gonna go back and have a little quality time with Electra."

Fox just stared at the husky, his left eyebrow cocked. "Okay? Thanks for telling me this?"

Bill just laughed as he walked down the hall. I turned my head towards everyone before I focused back on my rifle.

Zeria walked up behind me, watching finally everything sorted out with my weapon. I squeezed the trigger, hearing a click and I smiled.

"Well. That only took me a couple minutes. What the hell am I suppose to do now?"

"Go to bed?" Fox suggested, a smile on his face. I just glared at him, my left eye slightly open.

Just as I was about to counter, my stomach to growl a bit. Of course, this wasn't a bit. I was starving. "Where is the nearest place to get food around here?"

"Umm. I think there's a burger joint just down the street." Krystal answered, hoping she saw correctly. She's pretty sure she was.

"Alright. I'm gonna grab a bite to eat. You guys want anything?" "I'm pretty hungry, Jeff. I'll join you." Zeria answered, which put a smile on my face.

"Alright. Anything? Anything at all?" "Well. Since the two kids are leaving. I think you and I could use this time…." "Please. Don't finish that sentence."

Fox and Krystal laughed at me, as made my way out of the room, Zeria a couple feet behind me.

"_It's fun to mess with him." "Take it easy, Fox. You never know what he may do. He's very unpredictable." _

Fox just turned to look at Krystal, then sighed in agreement. (**Note: I am very unpredictable in real life. Just thought I let you know.)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Oh man. I'm sorry this took a long time to write. I get these bad writer's blocks and when i get one. I can't type if my life depended on it. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Thank you.**

By the time we walked outside, the skies had darken completely. Actually, even more so now that clouds filled the skies. The type of clouds that brought rain…….lightning as well.

I would look up occasionally, staring at the skies only to see them brighten up for maybe a half a second. Up to three seconds sometimes. I still found the night rather pleasant. I was a fan of rain.

I would look over at Zeria and I could tell she felt the same about the rain. It was the thunder that scared her. How I know this? Well, it was simple. When a big crash of thunder happened directly above us, she shrieked. Made me laugh.

"Shut up. I hate thunder." She said to me, glaring at me with her shadowed, gray eyes.

As I stared at her, I couldn't help, but be so attracted to her. The look she gave made me start sweating. I had to look away quickly. She just cocked an eyebrow at me in confusion.

"Come on. Let's get food before it starts pouring." Starting to walk in the direction of the burger place I heard so much about.

Zeria just stared at me walking away, a growing smile on her face before finally deciding to catch up with me.

As we walked down the sidewalk, occasionally looking up towards the sky every time a flash or bolt of lightning lit up the sky, my glance was brought over to an alleyway to my right.

It was completely dark, but I thought for sure I saw a figure crouching along the wall, but I just wasn't able to tell if I were right.

Zeria by this time did her best to look down the alleyway, but was about having as much success as I was. She was about to tell me that there was nothing down there until something caught her attention.

To her, it looked like a small orangish dot for maybe a second before disappearing. About the size of maybe of the diameter of a cigarette. That was enough proof for her. She took off running down the alley, not bothering to reach for her pistol for protection.

"Zeria! Get back here!" I yelled after her, pulling out my Taurus and running after her. I was about to wonder what she was chasing until I heard a third pair of footsteps and they sounded like they were on a mission to retreat.

I still couldn't see anything down the alleyway and had doubts if anyone was still around me until light filled the sky. A bolt of lightning raced across the sky, lasting for at least 3 seconds, actually making everything lit up like it were day out. That's when I saw Zeria a few feet in front of me, with what looked like a ram, about twenty feet in front of us.

"Freeze!" I yelled as I picked up my run into an all out sprint, easily passing Zeria and slowly started to catch up with the ram.

The ram ignored me completely and saw that I was running up faster than he expected. However, he just couldn't out run me. It was a matter of time before my foot would be resting on the back of his neck.

He jumped over a fence, hoping to be able to lose me in the crowded streets, which were not so crowded anymore, as rain started to fall from the sky.

I couldn't help, but look up. The scene, my surroundings were all too familiar. A dark alleyway, occasionally lighting up from the lightning above with rain falling harder by the second. Soon going to become a downpour. I started to hyperventilate.

The ram jumped over the fence, and hopefully would be able to lose me. The sight brought me back to normal and in an effort to slow him down, I fired a round at the ground just beside his foot.

He strafed to his left out of fear and collided and fell into some garbage cans. I smiled as I saw him fall to the ground and did my best to quickly hop over the fence before he could get back up.

I started to climb the fence as I saw the ram starting to get back up. I had one last effort before we were to begin our chase again.

"Don't fucking move!" I yelled, as I prayed to the gods, one in particular, as I threw my pistol at him. I let out a sigh of relief as the pistol came in contact with the ram's temple, knocking him back down to the ground dazed.

I ran towards the ram, immediately picking up my pistol and aimed it at the ram, who now couldn't remember why he was running. He just laid there, looking up at the barrel staring down at him.

Zeria finally was able to catch up with us, amazed at how quickly I was able to bring him down. She looked up at me, resting her hand on my shoulder. I slowly turned to her, before looking away and walking back towards the direction of the fence.

Zeria pulled her pistol and aimed it at the confused ram, as I leaned up against the side of the building, using my arm for support.

Thoughts were beginning to process through my mind, back to what I remembered a moment ago. I could feel my body starting to shake as my breaths began to shorten. Without any warning, I bent over and vomited rather badly. It felt forced and I knew if there was enough light, I would see blood within my vomit.

Zeria turned around, looking at my pathetic state and began to worry. She just couldn't walk away from the ram to check on me, he be able to escape and all of this would've been for nothing. "You alright?!"

I slowly turned my head over to her, tears flooding my eyes as I began another round of vomiting. The ram just laid there, confused as to what had happened to me.

I wiped my mouth with my sleeve, but had the aftertaste no one ever enjoyed. I looked to my right and saw a steady stream of falling water. I looked up and saw the stream making its way down a ladder.

I walked over to it and opened my mouth wide and took in a good amount of water to help rinse the aftertaste. When I was satisfied, I spat the water out towards the ground and slowly made my way back to Zeria.

"You okay, Jeff?" I didn't answer, I just rose my gun and trained it at the ram's head.

"Alright, I'm going to ask some questions and I want truthful answer. Where did you get those drugs?"

"I don't know what you are talking about, man. That was just a cigarette." He tried to explain, though I pulled back the hammer on my Taurus.

"I don't think cigarettes use marijuana. The legal ones anyway." I said, looking down at the bag the was slowly sliding out of his picket. "Now, tell me!" I yelled, firing the pistol, sending a round just to his left.

"Alright alright! I got it from a guy who works for Randall Cain!"

"Where is he now?"

"I…I don't know……….FUCK!" He yelled, releasing a blood-filled cry as a bullet had just entered his knee cap, blood quickly exiting the wound. "ZAR MEGA!"

I lowered my weapon and stared at the injured ram. The sight of him made me start hurting inside. I holstered my pistol and took a knee next to him.

"Look at yourself. Look what drugs have done to you." I said in a deep tone, almost like the tone was full of concern.

"You fucking did this to me. Look at my fucking knee!" He yelled, trying desperately to stop the bleeding.

"If you never started doing drugs. You wouldn't have end up in this alley with a hole in your kneecap." The ram looked up at me, glaring at me with piercing eyes. "Why do you do that shit to yourself?"

The ram's glare vanished, lowering his eyes slightly. "I got nothing, man. My family disowned me. Saying, 'I was a big disappointment to them', but this was before I started doing drugs. They're nut jobs. I hung around with wrong people and this all led to this point."

I just stared at the guy, before slowly looking up at Zeria. I stared at her for a couple seconds, before I lowered my gaze and turned back towards the ram. "I know what you mean. What's your name?"

"John." "John. My parents died when I was eight. I first came in contact with drugs by age ten. At eleven, I finally hit rock bottom and found myself smoking marijuana. By age thirteen, I gave it up, but I had a reputation which made people be scared shitless of me. It gradually gotten worse as life progressed. By twenty one, I found someone, but nine months later. She was taken from me. I alone in this universe once again. I had no one till last week. Things are starting to get better for me."

"What does this have to do with me?" The ram asked, groaning in pain, but now starting to get control over the bleeding.

"I had nothing…..just like you. I started doing drugs to try and end all problems. It made it worse for me. It's making it worse for you because did you think you have a hole in your knee tonight?" The ram responded with a shake of his head.

"You're a better person than I am. I can see a bright future ahead of you. You know why?" No response. "Because you ain't a loser like I am. You know what you have to do to get your normal life back. Here's what I'll be doing for you. I won't be calling them cops, but I will call an ambulance for you. I'll tell them that some gang members shot you and she and I were around and we called them for you. We won't say anything about you running away from a bounty hunter."

The ram just looked at me, I could see the gratitude in his eyes. I was also able to the difference between rain streaming down his face and the tears that were now building in the corners of his eyes.

"Leave this planet. Fly towards either Lylat or even Earth. Start a new life there. Get a job. Find the right girl and marry her. Hopefully the next time I see you. You'll be in an expensive business suit and not these rags on you, you call clothes."

John just looked at me, crying rather hard as he looked at me, then at Zeria. "You both are good people. I'm glad to have met you both. I'm sorry for running away."

"I'm sorry I had to shoot you." I said, rising from my kneeling position and walked away from the two. I pulled out my cell phone and called 911.

"Hello. I got a civilian in an alleyway just south of Armor Ave. he's been shot in the leg and I need an ambulance right now. First alleyway on your left, just south of Armor."

"_Okay sir. Who is this that's calling?" "_This is Jeff Meiners. Member of Styx Omega." "_Alright, Mr. Meiners. We have an ambulance inbound. Should arrive in five minutes or less." _"Roger."

I watched the EMTs lifting John's stretcher into the back of the ambulance. He lifted his hand and did his best to try and wave goodbye, just before the doors closed. I just stood there, my hands in my pockets as I watched the ambulance drive away.

I stared the entire time the vehicle was in view. When it vanished, I slowly turned to look at Zeria, as she did the same. Though, she had the biggest look of concern on her face. I started walking away, ignoring the look.

"What happened to you back there?" I turned my head and looked at Zeria, as she reached up and wiped my eyes of residual tears.

I turned around and looked at the dark alley. A wave of sadness and sorrow hitting me hard as I could feel tears returning. Barely able to say any words at all, I managed to squeak out one word. "Sam."

* * *

We all sat around in the restaurant of the hotel the next morning, welcoming back Ryan and Fay, who was extremely happy to be out of the hospital bed. We were waiting for Peppy, but those plans changed when we began to tell the story of last night.

"So, apparently Cain is located on Zar Mega as we speak. Or at least that's what the guy told us. I didn't ask how old he saw the guy, but it's still a wise idea to check it out."

"Well. That's excellent work the both of you pulled off last night. Zeria spotting the guy and Jeff taking control of the situation. You're both worked very well last night and we thank you for this information."

I just nodded, as I slowly lowered my head, remembering the alley. Everyone just stared at me with concern as I could feel tears returning. Zeria softened her face and wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

"He had an emotional breakdown during all of this. When he was in that alleyway, apparently. His surroundings were exactly like they were when Sam died in his arms."

Everyone just turned back towards me, as they saw me quivering from me crying so hard. Bill, who sat next to me, placed his hand on my shoulder to try to help comfort me.

"You're strong, Jeff. Able to fight the emotions to help us out. You're a tough guy." Bill said to me, as I buried my face into my right hand.

I cried for about ten more seconds, before I let out a loud grunt. I rose my head and wiped the tears away and I tried to slow my breathing. "I've wasted enough time. Let's get going."

"Calm down, kid. We got time before Peppy arrives. Take it easy." Bill said, trying to pull me back down onto the couch.

"No. When Peppy arrives, I want to be able to get a move on." Fox just rose from his spot next to Krystal, lifting his bag.

"I have a feeling you would be leaving without us one way or another. Be sure to take it easy when we get back to the Matchitehew."

"I can't make that promise." I said, bending over to lift up my bag. Everyone did the same as we all dispersed out of the hotel.

I occasionally glanced at Zeria, who's eyes were completely fixated on me. I could try to reassure her that I was fine, but she knew that whatever I would say, other than the truth. She would say 'bullshit.'

"Accord Main Base. This is Shuttlecraft, Mercury. Thank you for your hospitality." _"Yeah sure. I bet you did. Thanks for the compliment anyway." _

Adrian just laughed, which was a rather shock because that particular rarely to never laughed. This caused Fox to look at him with an amazed look on his face. "Shut it. It slipped."

"Yeah. Sure it did." Fox countered, while laughing himself.

Everyone on the shuttle either stared out the window to watch the world belong them flew away or talked amongst themselves.

I just sat in my chair looking out the window, unaware that Zeria took a seat next to me to check on me.

She just stared at me, waiting for me to turn my head to look at her, but I had entered a zone. Didn't hear any sounds, everything slowly started to blur up, but I hadn't noticed. It took physical contact to break me out of my trance.

"You okay?" I took a deep breath as I stared at my feet, before looking back at her.

"I don't know. A lot on my mind right now." "You want to talk about it?"

"Thanks anyway, but I think I'm gonna have to say no."

Zeria just stared at me. She was hoping I would want to talk to her about my problems, but when I said no. She just looked like she felt useless and I just couldn't let her feel that way.

In hopes that this would have to settle, I wrapped an arm around her and brought he close to me as I rested my head on top of hers, while looking out the window once again.

Ryan and Fay saw this and were thinking of a way to ruin that moment, but that was the last thing that was actually on their mind's. In light of everything they heard about last night, they were happy to see us like this and couldn't possibly ruin the moment.

Everything in the shuttle slowly started to get dark, as the bright sky over Accord, slowly vanished into the darkness of space. The only light now, besides the overhead lights above, were the stars.

"Always good to see that ship after leaving a planet. I don't fly that thing much anymore. I bet Natasha really misses me."

Adrian just turned towards Fox, a look like he had just been creped out. "You are strange. You know that?"

Fox just laughed as he turned to look at his ship approaching him, but something else caught his attention.

Next to the Matchitehew, was a ship about the size of a C-130 Hercules. Only it looked more like a smaller version of the Great Fox. It was Beltino's personal shuttle.

"Hey, Beltino. Peppy. Good to see you finally made it."

"Oh hey, Fox. I didn't expect you guys coming up from the surface. I was just about to ask Natasha's permission to board."

"Natasha. Lower ship alert. Me and General Hare have arrived and are approaching the hanger bay."

"_Of course, Fox. Ship status green. Welcome home." _"Alright Peppy. Go ahead and land."

"Thank, Fox. See you soon."

Both ships finally powered down as everyone started to make their way out of their ships. Fox immediately walked over to Peppy, embracing his father-figure in a hug. "Oh. Always good to see you, old man."

"Like-wise. I am always glad to see my friends." Peppy said, ending the hug with his son and walked over to Krystal. Fox walked over and greeted Beltino and Slippy.

"Always good to see both of you. I think this is your guy's first visit to the Matchitehew. Welcome."

"I must say, Fox. A lot more impressive than the Great Fox. This is great." "_Thank you."_

Slippy immediately looked up at the intercom speaker in the center of the hanger bay, scared after hearing the Russian, accented voice.

"That would be Natasha. My ship's computer." Fox explained, as he began to lead everyone towards the exit of the hanger bay.

Slippy, Beltino and Peppy were in awe after they saw the ship that took place of the Great Fox. All wished this ship was their dreadnaught during the Lylat Wars. This ship would turn the tide of any war.

"So. When are we going to be able to take readings on Accord?" Beltino asked, as he pulled off his glasses and gave them a wipe with his handkerchief.

"Well. That's the thing. When we were down there. We got a good lead that he may be on Zar Mega and we were going to head over as soon as you arrived. Now, that you arrived. We were gonna get going."

Slippy looked a little disappointed, but he knew the business. Well, almost. Though, he understood completely and would wait till the Matchitehew was heading back in the direction of Accord, but in the mean time. He allowed the bounty hunter's to do their job. Peppy and Beltino agreed.

"Then that's settled. Natasha, at full velocity. Head in the direction of planet Zar Mega." "_Of course, Krieger." _

I looked at the ceiling, "Natasha? I said call me Fox." "_I always liked the name Krieger more. No offense." _

I couldn't help, but laugh at the comment. Fox slowly turned towards me, sharing the same expression while laughing. "Your computer is too funny, Fox." "Yeah thanks, kid."

Everyone smiled at the sight of me laughing, especially Zeria. She hadn't seen me smile in about a day and she was glad to see that.

Everyone stopped as they heard the loud wind of the engine turbines starting to spin, before finally reaching maximum speed. Thus, the sound stopped.

"Well, we got some time. Everyone, enjoy my ship. Slippy. Beltino. Natasha took some scans of Accord while in orbit. That should get you started, before you can do some intense scans when we return."

"Sounds good, Fox. Thanks." Slippy said, as he started walking away with his father.

"How were the kids when you left?" Krystal asked Peppy, as she approached him behind.

"They miss their mothers and fathers and they hope you guys return home soon. Though, Claudia's there and they love her."

Krystal started to tear up, she missed her children so much and wished they were in her arms right now. This definitely wasn't the type of work that children were allowed in.

I looked at all the parents, saw they had the same facial expression as Krystal's. They loved being parents. I heard from a couple of them at times that if they had to choose between their children or their jobs? They would choose their kids.

I couldn't help, but try to remember my parents. They were very loving and supportive of me. Always tried to make time for me and my mother really knew how to cook. Always loved her meals.

The days I watched them get lowered into the ground, it was basically the end of the sweet, little boy they saw grow up before their lives were taken from them. I tried to stay strong for them however, thinking that maybe if I cried. I would show I was weak. Sometimes though, it's hard not to.

You think of the people you love that have been taken from you, you just can't help, but feel the grief finally hit its limit before the only thing you can do is cry for them.

**(Note: I am actually like this. I have lost loved ones and I do try my best to stay strong, but sometimes. You just can't help, but cry for them. I'm sure all of you know what I am talking about.)**

Adrian and Ryan were at the shooting range, trying to see who was the better shot. Sad thing is that this match has been going on since their loss to Zeria. They kept taunting each other, saying 'you suck' or 'you're gonna fuck up'. Those type of things, their goal was to just be better than the other.

Miyu and Fay just shook their heads in disbelief that their husbands still won't give up this rivalry of theirs. Finally, they just had to get out of there.

Bill and Electra were just looking at pictures of Jason. The sight of him when he was first born made Electra cry. Bill couldn't help, but laugh at the sight of Jason chasing after him.

"What you think of having another kid?" Bill asked Electra, as she just looked at her husband.

"Crosses my mind on occasion. I would like to have another child." Bill smiled at his wife, as he leaned forward to plant a kiss on her lips.

Fox and Wolf sat in the mess hall, enjoying a beer and a plate of nachos that was just loaded with toppings. To the both of them, it was one of the greatest combos ever.

Krystal decided to take this time to catch up with Peppy, reminiscing about the old days with StarFox and Matt and Katt couldn't help, but listen to their stories.

Fara and Zeria were walking through the halls, just talking about life in general and how much Fara loved parenthood. Zeria just smiled. She's been there since all the kids were born and she's enjoyed the idea of being a mother when she first saw Jericho.

They slowly began to stop as they heard faint music through the halls. Sounded kind of like New Age music. The sound was too quiet to make out. They decided to head in that direction.

"Who do you think is playing the music?" Zeria asked, trying to open up her ears to listen harder.

Fara did the same, but had an easier time hearing the music since her fennec ears were larger than a normal vulpine. "I'm not sure, but it sounds like it's coming from the gym." She said as she started to run, Zeria not too far behind.

The music was now easily heard, Fara recognizing it to be from a soundtrack made by Yanni. Zeria couldn't help, but listen to the beautiful music.

When they neared the gym, they slowed their pace and slowly approached the entrance. They peaked their heads from behind the corner and looked inside.

They stared at me sitting in a chair, my back towards the entrance. For being foxes, their ears started to hurt a little from the blaring music. They were stunned that I just sat there. Unaffected by the loud music.

They approached me from behind, but I saw them approaching when I saw their reflection in a mirror. I lifted the remote and turned the music down.

"This is one kind of music that will put me in a calm state of mind."

"I always loved this kind of music. I listened to this as well after I left StarFox. After I….." Fara started before trailing off, not wanting to finish her sentence.

"You shot Fox. I know the story, Fara." "But how?"

I slowly turned towards the two women, "I ask questions. Mainly Zeria there is the one that answers most of them."

Fara turned to look at Zeria, as she blushed from being squealed on. Fara just gave her an annoyed look, before the music suddenly ended.

"I'm gonna go take a nap. When do we arrive at Zar Mega?"

"Umm. I think I heard in about nine hours." "Goodnight." I said, walking out of the gym.

* * *

"You're a pushover. You can't make this shot." Ryan stated, as he watched Adrian fire another bulls-eye. He swore under his breath.

"Let's see. That makes this what, ten to ten." Adrian said, lowering his weapon as he stared at the smoldering target sheet.

"You guys still firing? When will you guys end?" Wolf entered the range with Fox next to him.

"Until one of us misses the bulls-eye." Ryan said, taking his stance behind the booth and aimed his gun at another target sheet.

Fox slowly walked up behind him, smacking his arms just he squeezed the trigger. The shot went very wide left.

"Oh you fuck!" "You missed." "Oh the hell I did." Ryan said, going back into his stance.

"You give up and I'll get you a Jager." "Not worth it."

Ryan stopped aiming when he heard the sound of a liquid next to his ear. He slowly turned to his right and saw a bottle of Jager rocking back and forth in front of him.

Fox was rocking the bottle and he was prepared to pour him a glass if Ryan lowered his gun and gave up.

As tempting as that was, Ryan turned back towards the target sheet and fired off a round. Bulls-eye.

"Ryan actually gave up a drink of Jager? Amazing." Wolf said, as he just stared at the husky in amazement.

"Thinking of giving the stuff up anyway. I drink way too much." Ryan said, walking away from the booth, but after he quickly snatched the bottle from my hand. "But one more never hurt anyone."

"You alcoholic bastard." Fox said, as he decided to pull his revolver and fired at the target sheet, barely using any time to aim. He just pulled and fired. Bulls-eye.

"And you show off, you bastard." Ryan stated, as he opened the bottle and took a quick swig from the bottle.

* * *

"_Arriving at planet, Zar Mega." _Natasha announced over the intercom, which caught everyone's attention as they saw the green planet below them.

Fox sat at his console, pressing a few buttons before he screen flickered to the surface. However, it wasn't a detailed picture. It just looked like a green blur…….with a black line.

"That's the mark we made on the planet!" Ryan yelled, pointing at the screen. Everyone was amazed at what had happened three years ago. The burned three mile was still there. Looked like life hadn't tried to grow back.

"Cool." Wolf said, before turned his head to look at the approaching space platform that orbited the planet. "And this is where the final battle took place during the Terran, Zerg and Protoss War. And there's nothing left of their technology?"

"That's what Natasha is showing me. It's like they just vanished." Slippy said, looking at the radar instruments to do the best detail scan he could provide.

"And if I recall. We head in that direction. We'll find the unknown planet I found you on." Fox said, placing a hand on Zeria's shoulder. She just nodded as she looked at the platform.

"Hey! What's that?" Miyu said, carefully looking at the screen. She spotted something that was different from the platform.

"It's not showing me anything on radar. What do you see?"

"I don't know, Slippy, but it definitely ain't part of this structure. I say we get a closer look."

"Might as well, Miyu. We continued like this and we'll just be passing right underneath. You'll be able to see you anomaly then." Fox said, relaxing in his captain's chair.

Krystal walked up behind him and started scratching behind his ear. A purr started to emanate from his throat. "You like that, sweetie?"

"You always know how to make me purr." He said, pulling his wife closer to give her a kiss.

I just stared at that unknown object Miyu discovered. It was definitely different from the platform. It was black while everything that surrounded it was like a dull chrome.

It had an odd shape to it, but I know I saw that….ship somewhere before. Looked like it was composed of two sections. The forward half looked like a razor sharp Christmas tree. The rear section, I can't really explain that. Narrow with two…engines sticking out.

"Natasha? Zoom in." The screen flickered and the object was now about five times bigger on the screen than it was a moment ago. "Now flip the image."

Again, the screen flickered and the image flipped itself. "Enterprise." Fox mumbled, but still loud for everyone to hear.

I stared at the ship, before finally the thought finally completed itself in my head. I ran over to a computer terminal and started typing in the name I saw. 'U.S.S Enterprise. NCC-1701-F'.

When the searched completed, everyone had finally joined around me and began to read the information Natasha provided.

"It was a human ship. How it ended up out here? I don't know." Adrian said, as he continued to read.

"Ship commanded by Admiral……..Jeff Meiners?" Fara read, as she, along with everyone turned and looked at me.

I just stared at the screen and pushed a few buttons before the screen changed. Showing the picture of the human. "Huh. This guy is pretty good-looking for a human."

Fox just turned his head and looked at me, before looking back at the view screen. He just stared at the Enterprise. "Let's head over there. All of us except for Peppy and Beltino. I want you guys within the protection of my ship. In case something about this turns sour."

Peppy and Beltino looked at stared at Fox. They nodded their heads, but they were not happy about it. "Adrian. You're flying."

Adrian perked up his head and turned and looked at Fox. A smile on his face. "Sounds good to me."

* * *

The Mercury flew out of the hanger and made its way up towards the Enterprise. As the ship got closer into view, we were able to determine that this ship had been under attack. Though, it was hard to determine how it fit perfectly into that hole in the platform?

The ship was pretty amazing to look at. Black hull glistened as we flew underneath it. It almost reminded you of obsidian. The razor style saucer section was an unique design. Plus, it had curved spikes sticking out at certain parts of the ship. Looked like a superb war vessel for the human race.

Though, it had been under attack. Probably from Cain, but what kind of power did he have to crippled this here ship? Or even almost take out the entire human race? This was beginning to get a little creepy. Almost like the Lector mission all over again.

"Right there. This is where they land their ships. Looks like a cramped hanger bay, but it looks like it can house the Mercury. Take us there, Adrian." Bill ordered, as he had been doing scans of the ship up close.

Adrian looked at Bill's screen and saw the blinking light, indicating that was the hanger bay. It was on the dorsal side of the ship, just in front of the nacelles. "Got it."

He pulled on the joystick and pulled it at a right angle, the ship responding flying upwards to the starboard side of the ship.

"This is the weird. Something doesn't feel right about this. You sense anything, love?" Fox whispered to his wife, as she was staring at the ship in front of her. She had a tense look on her face, but she also remained calm.

"I don't sense anything out of the ordinary. Everything seems normal."

"I know better than question your judgment. Alright. If you say so. Let's see what we have here." Fox said, embracing his wife's hand with his own. Immediately feeling her grasp tighten around his.

"The ship does look dead. I see a bunch of windows, but not one light is on. And those nacelles are suppose to be glowing with…..anti-matter? Doesn't make sense?" Katt questioned her readings, as she sat opposite of Bill.

Matt leaned forward over his wife's shoulders and started reading. "They used an energy source called Dilithium. Apparently, they allow the ship to travel at what they call, Warp Drive. They have to be kept in some sort of chamber called a Core. If the core takes enough damage, the Dilithium crystals become destabilized and induce a Warp Core Breach. Thus, destroying the ship."

"This ship had a core breach. But the core was shutdown and the breach was averted. Though, when all of this happened. It was about twenty years ago. This ship has been powered down for that entire time. I don't know if it'll be able to start back up. I don't think it's as easy as turning a key." Bill replied, reading where Matt had left off.

"About one minute till landing." Adrian called out, as he turned the shuttle around, heading for the stern of the ship.

"This bastard is huge. I don't think as big as the Matchitehew though." Wolf said, staring at the abandoned vessel. "About thirteen hundred meters in length. Five hundred shorter than Matchitehew." Bill answered. "But the weapons are slightly higher than your ship, Fox."

"Really? And here I thought my ship was state-of-the-art." Fox said, leaning forward to look at the stats of the Enterprise.

"Hey, Bill? Isn't there suppose to be some sort of door in front of the hanger?"

Bill looked at Adrian, then at the screen. "Yeah. There should be. Why?" "'Cause it ain't there."

Everyone looked out the cockpit window and saw that the door was gone. It looked like it had been blown away with enough force, part of the hull was missing. Indicating that the door rip it away as it floated away.

"There seems to be a containment field in front of it. Looks like we can pass through it, but if not. Hang on to something."

Adrian slowly thirsted the ship forward, closing the distance between the shuttle and the hanger bay entrance. Everyone gripped onto something solid as the ship was only a few meters away. "Brace."

I just held on, waiting to be toss slightly forward, but as the seconds went by. Nothing came. Nothing happened. But it did grow dark. Oh wait. We're inside.

Adrian lowered the ship, but it was hard to do as there was no gravity within the ship. Once he finally got the ship settled on the metal floor, he activated the magnet legs. "Alright everyone. Welcome to the Enterprise."

"Bill? Is there air on this ship?" Fox asked, as he started heading for the rear of the ship, but made a quick stop in front of the air helmets.

"We should be fine. A little stale, but if we get the air recycled within two hours. There will be no harm to us."

"Alright. Sounds good to me. Let's get a move on and start this ship back up. Or at least get the air working normally." Fox yelled, as he pushed the button to lower the ramp.

Everyone had grabbed their weapons, just in case there was some sort of resistance, but the two telepaths were not finding a signal soul on the ship. Kinda of disconcerting.

It was dark in the ship, with the little light from space, we had to activate our flashlights on our weapons. Wolf and Fox just enhanced their visions on their optic implants. As Fox also slipped on his sunglasses. Now able to see perfectly in the dark.

"Nice metallurgy. This ship seems way ahead of its time. I would love to know the history of this ship." Ryan took extra interest to the ship, gazing at the welding, the type of metal used. He had to admit, it was a bit more impressive than when he first arrived on the Matchitehew.

"Still sensing nothing, babe?" Fox asked his wife, as he remained close to him. Though, she was in such close proximity because she was trying to relax Fox. Also trying to turn him on. Which was working, but couldn't understand why she was doing this. What did he care. Not one bit.

"I wonder if this ship has a computer?" Adrian called out, finding the door that leads out of the hanger bay. "_Please state identification."_

Everyone looked around, listening to the female voice. There was no accent or anything. Sounded just like an emotionless voice. "I think that's a yes, Adrian." Miyu whispered to him.

"Computer? Begin power up procedures?" Fox called out, looking at the ceiling. "_Access denied. Need proper authorization. Ship is in total lockdown." _

"How do we unlock the ship?" "_Need proper authorization and voice activation from designated commander of vessel."_

"Computer. This is…..Admiral Jeff Meiners. Please unlock all subsystems of starship Enterprise. Ship is back in my hands."

The computer started a process of beeping as everyone just stared at the ceiling. "_Proper authorization and voice recognition confirmed. Welcome back, Admiral."_ "Thank you."

Everyone just turned and looked at me. Amazed and confused at the same time. I just ignored them. "How the fuck did you know that would work? More importantly. How did you know you two had the same voice?!" Ryan yelled, in his usually amazed tone.

"Just had an assumption. I went with it and now the ship is back to normal." I said, as I walked past them. "Nice work, kid."

I stopped and turned around to see Fox smiling at me. I nodded in approval before I started walking again.

"Guess he's useful for something." Wolf mumbled to Fox, a grin across his face. Which Fox couldn't help, but chuckle at.

Everyone stepped into the hallway after Adrian opened up the door, no sign of light anytime soon. However, a second later. Everything flashed red then it darkened and it kept repeating this process every second. It was like a red, very slow strobe light.

"Hexagon shaped hallways. Interesting design. Which way do you think we should go?"

Fox looked around, wondering how to answer the arctic wolf's question. Either way we go, it'll just lead us to the sides of the ship. Though, Fox continued to ponder.

"Why don't we split up?" Fara suggested, as she emerged into the hallway. Already making up her mind on going to the left.

"I would prefer to stick together, but there are some things we should check out. Alright. You seven, (**Matt, Katt, Ryan, Fay, Jeff, Bill Electra**), you guys go right. We'll (**Fox, Krystal, Wolf, Fara, Zeria, Adrian, Miyu)** go left. We'll check out the command center. Go check the engines."

"Right, bud." Bill called out, placing a hand on Electra's shoulder to guide her through the dark hallway.

Fox watched everyone head in the direction they were told before he got on the phone. "Peppy? Fox."

"_Yeah, Fox! You guys make it?" _"Yeah. We made it. It's pretty something over here. When we are certain everything is secured, we'll bring you guys over." "_Alright, Fox. Sounds good. Everything is excellent over here. Beltino is scanning for any signs of Cain, but so far. Nada." _"Alright, Pep. If you find anything, you got my number." "_You bet." _**Click.**

Fox pocketed his phone and continued to walk along side his friends and wife. The hallways continued to keep him on edge, but his senses were telling him that the ship was empty. Even Krystal was feeling the same thing. He was just having a hard time relaxing.

"You worry too much, sweetie." Krystal told him as she leaned forward and planted a kiss on the side of his muzzle. Which he couldn't help, but turn towards her and smile.

"Hey look!" Miyu called out, as she came to an intersection, but on one wall. It had a basic map of the ship. "According to this map. The….bridge? Huh? They use bridge too. Anyway, just down the hall and up four decks."

"How might one do we get up four decks? I don't see any stairs." Wolf called out, looking in both directions, but it all looked the same to him. Already, he was lost.

"Look." Krystal leaned forward and stared at the map. Pointing her finger on a white, vertical line. "This must be some sort of elevator system. Let's find it."

"You heard the lady. Let's go." Fox ordered, as he started walking down the hallway in the direction of the elevator.

"What the fuck is a Turbo Lift?" Ryan yelled, as he stood in front of the elevator lift, but it appeared to be inoperable.

"Computer? What is the situation on the…Turbo Lifts?" "_Turbo Lifts are waiting for password." _"Password? I don't fucking know!" "_Password accepted."_

Everything shot their heads straight up, everyone was completely stunned. "Was it password or I don't fucking know?" "_Password." _

"It's so obvious. It's impossible to get." Bill yelled while laughing. I just stared at the ceiling, having a hard time at how simple that really was.

"Come on, kid. The engine room awaits us." Fay said, as she gently pushed me into the small lift area, but we were all able to fit.

"_Please state what deck." "_Umm. What deck is the engine room on?" Matt asked, looking at the black pad next to him.

"_Engineering is on deck twenty-eight." _"Deck twenty eight then." The computer accepted the command and it started moving downward. Amazing, no one felt the lift move.

"This is nice. Don't have to use stairs. I can get use to this." Ryan said, as he leaned up against the side of the lift and waited for those doors to open.

"You're pretty lazy, aren't you?" I turned to him, shaking my head at him, but he didn't seem to notice.

"Yep. I really am. Stairs have never been my friend."

"You know, Ryan. We could use these lifts for a bit of privacy when we aren't doing much."

I just cringed my face, as I just covered my ears. "You guys disgust me."

"What's wrong, kid? Don't like the idea of thirty year old sex?"

"Oh God. Get my out of here!"

The door finally opened and I was the first to get out. Trying my best to stay away from the horny canines. Made my skin crawl, but I had to admit one thing. Fay was pretty damn hot for thirty.

"This way. Engineering is just down the hall." Katt ordered, as she pushed her way out of the small lift and turned left. Everyone had followed her and after about thirty feet later. The came across another intersection, but to the right. Was the Core.

It looked like it was completely dead. No power was running through it. The helix coils that flowed the Dilithium Crystals, along with the plasma was not flowing. I would expect anything less. From what we read, the Core was shutdown to prevent a breach.

"Come on. There has to be some way to start this bastard."

"So this is the Bridge, huh? I feel almost at home." Fox said, as he stepped onto the bridge. Looking at the direction terminals that ran this ship.

"Look. Two command chairs for the two of us. How nice." Krystal said, as she walked down the sloped ramp that led to the command chairs and the navigation terminals.

"I can't tell what kind of terminals these are, but I'm sure they control the different systems of the ship. I hope the guys downstairs find a way to power up the engine." Wolf explained, as he knocked on the darkened screen a couple times.

"Hey guys. Look at this." Zeria said as she walked up the view screen. Everyone looked up to look in her direction, but were confused at what she was looking at.

"It's just a view screen, Zeria. Just like the one on the Matchitehew." Fara called out, starting to walk down the sloped ramp.

"Wrong." She countered, as she placed her hand upon the screen, but static electricity started to surround her hand, giving off a bright blue glow. Everyone froze at what they saw. "The screen has been shot away. There's nothing here, but a containment field separating us from the depths of space."

"What the hell happened?" Wolf muttered, approaching the railing above the command chairs.

"Apparently this ship was under attack. It must've killed off everyone on the ship. Still doesn't make sense on how this ship was pulled into a perfect hole of this platform. I just can't figure it out." Krystal gave her theory, but she just wasn't sure. She couldn't feel what exactly happened.

A loud vibration overcame the silence of the bridge, as Fox flinched and looked down to see it was his phone. He gave of a relieved sigh before he pulled it out of his pocket to answer. "Yeah?"

"_Hey Fox. Cooper. We found the engine……warp core, but the thing is too far gone. It needs another power source to give it a jumpstart. I was thinking maybe you can spare a few parts from the Matchitehew in order for this to work. What do you say?"_

"I'm sure I can spare a few power chargers to make it work. How many do you think this will take?"

"_Umm? I don't know. I'm just hoping maybe three or four. I guarantee five, but I didn't think you would want to spare that maybe. Hopefully we can make due with just four. At least it should last us until we can get the ship to a station, maybe over Metropolis."_

"Alright, Cooper. We'll head over and grab a few chargers from the engines. Meet you at the Mercury."

"_Hold on there, Fox. I managed to get some juice flowing and I discovered something pretty damn nifty. Meet me in engineering. It'll cut the trip down to nothing."_

"Alright. If you say so. Me, Wolf and Adrian are on our way." With that, he hung up the phone and shoved it back into his pocket. "Alright. Wolf and Adrian. We're heading for engineering. Cooper's found something."

"We just leaving the ladies here?" Adrian asked, feeling concerned about leaving Miyu in a strange place. Things didn't settle with him and he just wants to make sure she be fine.

"I know what you are feeling, Adrian. Relax. Everything we'll be fine. I promise."

Adrian just turned to look at his wife, before turning back towards the vulpine with a nod. "Don't worry. I'll be right back." "I know." The lynx called out, blowing her husband a kiss.

"Alright, Cooper. What the fuck did you find?" Wolf yelled as the three dogs entered engineering. They didn't find anyone until Ryan popper out from behind the corner.

"Hey! Look at this, you guys. This is amazing. And it works too."

The three joined the husky as they saw Bill standing on this platform and began to glow white before finally vanishing out of thing air. "What the hell?! Where is he?"

"He's on the Matchitehew." Cooper said calmly, a grin on his face.

"This is some sort of teleportation system? And it works with our anatomy?" Fox asked Ryan, before the husky's phone began to vibrate. He lifted the phone and put it on speaker.

"_Hey! This thing is awesome! When can I do that again?" _"Bill? Fox. You feel fine?"

"_Oh yeah! That was a ball, dude! You should've heard Matt's expression. The kid said he was doing back flips off the platform because he had so much fun!" _

"This is what we can use to teleport the parts for the warp core?" "_Yeah! Saves a shit load of time when it comes to transferring parts by shuttle."_

"When can I go?" Wolf said, very eager to try out this nifty gadget.

"Well. The kid, Matt and Bill all made it without problems. I suggest we just do this all at once. I can put a timer before the thing transports us to the Matchitehew. Be sure to stand in the middle of those white circles."

"Alright, Cooper. You saved us the hassle of another shuttle trip so when we get this ship powered up. I'm gonna buy you a Jager."

"Really? Wow. Cool, Fox." Ryan said, as he walked over to the console that controls the transporters. "Alright. Timer has been set for fifteen seconds. Let's do this!"

All of them walked onto the transport platform and waited for the timer to count down to zero. Fox felt a little anxious, but before he knew it. A white, fluxing beam appeared in front of him before long. He was back on the Matchitehew.

"You teleported us right into the engine room? Why haven't we discovered this yet? Where's everyone anyway?" Fox called out, seeing everyone except for Bill, Jeff, and Slippy.

"I don't recall. Did Slippy join us on the Enterprise?" Adrian asked, looking around to see if he could find the little green toad.

"I don't know. Who cares? Let's get this show on the ro……." Wolf was unable to finish his sentence.

No more than ten seconds after we arrived back on the Matchitehew, the whole place was shaking badly. Our whole area was lighting up with sparks and debris as we had to protect ourselves from getting stabbed.

Soon afterwards, the ship shook again. This time even harder. It sounded like something was blown off the ship. Everyone fell to the floor, the shaking no longer could be tolerated as it sounded like the ship was shaking itself to pieces.

The alarms started blaring, releasing the frightening sound that made your heart skip a beat. (**If you recall. The alarm system is intro to the song, Spiel Mit Mir by Rammstein. It has a cool effect when the bass is turned all the way up. Try it. Sounds kick ass.)**

Fox reached for his phone and began to call Peppy. "Peppy! What the fuck is happening?!"

"_We're under attack, Fox! Burst missiles are pounding the Matchitehew. So far! We are rendered disabled and our weapons are dramatically losing power. It seems like it is coming from the planet's surface. We are now reading a ship approaching us. They are asking for our surrender."_

Fox's heart definitely stopped for a good two seconds. With a ship that couldn't escape. Not even fight. Along with another ship that was basically out of the fight as well. How could they escape?

"_Fox? We can transfer all the power the Matchitehew has to offer. You can use it to power up the Enterprise. You guys can make your escape." _

"Whoa whoa whoa! Our escape? What the hell? What about you?" "_Fox! Take whatever you need to power up the Enterprise! Beltino and I will slow them down while you make your escape!"_

"Peppy! I will not let you died for our safety. We can save you!" "_No Fox. As we speak the ship is docking with us and they have all intentions of taking out the bridge. We won't let them. I'm beginning transfer right now. Enterprise should be accepting the power as we speak. You will need to grab a few chargers though. I've been monitoring your conversation and take as many as you can!"_

"Peppy! We are going to stay and fight with you!" "_My boy. Hundred soldiers are coming aboard. You'll never survive and I know this has something to do with Cain. You are our only hope. Don't make this harder than it already is."_

"Peppy…..you mustn't." "_My time has finally come, Fox. I got lucky with Corneria and over the Aparoid home world._ _No way I can make it out of this."_

"_This is Beltino! Please tell Slippy I love him!"_

"But what about when we do escape and they kill you? What then, General?" Adrian yelled into the phone, Fox sensing a tear forming in his eye.

"_We have a little surprise for them. Hurry! All of you! They just breached through the door and we only have about four minutes before we no longer are able to help you! I love you, son!" _"Peppy!"

There was no response, the call had ended before Fox yelled out his father's name. His hands started to tremble before he was shook out of his trance. He turned to find me, already carrying a power charger.

"Let's go! We don't have much time! We need two more chargers to get the Enterprise working!" I yelled in his face, causing the older vulpine to back away a little, but a snarl grew on his face.

"There's no time for that now, buddy! We need to hurry!" Matt yelled, getting Fox to cooperate. The plan worked as Fox, Adrian and Wolf grabbed a charger each. Making the total of six chargers for the Enterprise.

* * *

Peppy sat in the captain's chair, setting up his plan in order to make this work. Beltino covered him as he held dual yielded SMGs. "Alright, Beltino. This is how war veterans like us should die. Noble sacrifice. Or as what Spock from that show Star Trek would say. 'The needs of the many. Out weigh the needs of the few.'"

"I look forward to fight along side you. How much time do we have before they arrive on the bridge?"

"I have to say about three minutes. They'll soon overpower us, but we have a little secret for them. Don't we?"

Beltino looked towards Peppy, a smile brewed on his face. "They'll never know what hit them."

Peppy finished messing with the keypad on the captain's chair before he was satisfied that his deed was done. He ran towards the side of the bridge, as Beltino ran towards the other.

Their hands wouldn't steady. They knew that this was it for them. It was only a matter of minutes before they met their fate. However, even though they knew this was it for them. They couldn't help, but laugh.

"We both have had our share of death almost taking us away from our loved ones, haven't we?" Peppy said from across the room, which Beltino could not deny.

"The Orbital Gate with the Aparoid missiles trying to take it down. That was an exciting ten minutes."

Peppy just started laughing, it may have only taken about ten minutes, but it seemed like it took forever. "Oh man. I'm just glad I was able to know Fox and Krystal finally got together. And got to see all my grandchildren. I just hope they can grow up with their grandfather."

"The point is Peppy that they will grow up. And they will grow up knowing that their grandfather sacrificed himself, to save their parents. I just hope that Slippy takes my research to a whole new level. So many things I was never able to complete."

"Don't worry, Beltino. Slippy will make you proud and he will tell Amanda and his children how great of a man you are."

Beltino lowered his gaze, then glanced back at his watch. One minute and thirty seconds. He pulled back on actions of his SMGs and aimed back at the door. "I'm ready."

* * *

"What's the status on the warp core? Is it powering up?!" Fox yelled, as he ran over to the console were Ryan and Bill were working quickly, but diligently to get that core fired. It was like trying to get a spark out of a corroded spark plug.

"It wants to, but it just won't fire. Son of a bitch! I hate this machine!" Ryan yelled as he pounded on the console, creating a series of sparks. The sparks began to become more constant before finally.

Everyone turned quickly towards the blue, pulsing glow as the warp core had finally fired. Ryan laughed as he checked the power level. "We are at one hundred percent. Maybe some rough loving is all we needed."

"Shut up! Get this ship out of here! We got less than one minute!" Fox yelled as he watched Ryan begin pressing buttons.

Everyone turned towards the core again as the pulsing increased in speed. "We are now traveling at full impulse!"

The Enterprise started to lower itself out of its hole and started flying away from the Matchitehew. The ship attached to her began firing at the fleeing ship. Luckily for us, a bunch of amateurs were at the controls because they couldn't hit us.

"Peppy? They're escaping." Beltino called out, as he watched the Enterprise fleeing the scene, which started to relax the hare.

"Thank God." Peppy mumbled, before he could start hearing footsteps approaching fast. When he turned to look around, soldiers entered the bridge and started firing at the two older animals.

A barrage of bullets made contact with Beltino, causing him to fall to the ground. Peppy hid and watched his friend's life had drained away from him. A tear started to form in his eyes, but he started to fire at the soldiers.

He glanced at his watch, ten seconds to go. He had to make sure he stalled them that long. He managed to pick off one fighter, a mongoose in the head. "I still got it!" He yelled, before a blaster round impacted him in the chest.

He fell to the floor, life still barely in him, but he lost his grip on his weapon. He could feel his life slowly draining away, but as he gazed one last look at his watch. He smiled at the sight, Eleven forty-nine exact. That was the exact same time he was born. It was the exact same time, he sacrificed himself. To save his son. And his family.


	5. Chapter 5

**I am sorry everyone for this chapter taking so long to post. I've had the biggest writer's block and for that. I'm pretty sure my writing suffered so forgive me if this chapter isn't exciting or just plain bad. I apologize in advanced if you think its bad. Anyway, without further interruptions. Star Fox: Styx Omega 2-Chapter 5**

I stood off to the side in the hanger bay, while everyone looked out the open door into space, looking back at the green planet of Zar Mega. For reasons now, the planet itself looked empty.

As I looked upon my teammates, their faces had a face as if a part of them had been taken away. All the women were crying, as only one guy was. That guy happened to be Fox.

They all had a reason to be upset. None of us had seen what had happened, but by the looks of the empty planet. The disappearance of the platform had to have some part of the reason. It was more than that though.

From the conversation I overheard, Peppy and Beltino had risked their lives to protect the ones they love. This also involved the loss of Fox's beloved ship, the Matchitehew.

However, the explosion was fierce enough to destroy the platform and the ship that was prepared to take over the Matchitehew. Plus it scattered all of the radars in the area so no one saw the Enterprise leaving.

I couldn't be as affected by this like everyone else. I didn't know Peppy or Beltino. I wasn't on the Matchitehew long enough to truly appreciate the fine construction it took to make it. I didn't even know who Natasha was. Though, I did feel sorry for all of them and that's all I could do.

"Peppy and Beltino were brave men. I'm gonna miss them." Adrian said, holding his crying wife in his arms. He could feel her nod in his chest, but if anything. Her crying picked up a little more.

"How are we going to tell Lucy, the kids? Everyone who cared for those two?" Fox asked, as he held Krystal in his arms, both crying for the loss of their father-figure.

"Tell them they died sacrificing themselves to protect us. Better to tell they died like heroes than anything else." She responded in his chest, between breathes.

I took glances between the team and the planet, before finally I pushed myself away from the wall to approach the team. "Come on, everyone. Time for to get out of here."

Something I must've said began to anger the crew. As they all turned to look at me, an angry look on their faces. "What the fuck is your problem? You realize we just lost two people we care about and here you are. Telling us we need to get moving!" Wolf yelled out, slightly pushing himself away from Fara.

"I sympathize your loss. I do, but sitting around here makes us sitting ducks and we aren't exactly prepared to fight off an attack!"

"We just lost two great people! Do you realize how hard this is for us?!" Fox yelled, walking towards me with harsh anger.

"Do you realize that if we are attacked and destroyed? Then we wouldn't be able to avenge their deaths?!"

"Why the fuck are you such a cold-hearted fuck?!" Fox yelled in my face, a few inches away from me.

"Who the fuck are you calling cold-hearted, Krieger?!" I yelled as a counter, setting something off inside of him as he brought a fist around and punched straight in the face.

Everyone grabbed a hold of him, trying to restrain him the best they could, as I just looked at the ground. Blood dripping from my mouth and nose, as I slowly looked up at him. Rage coursing through me.

Without thinking at all, I lunged forward. Slamming my fist against his muzzle. The attack was hard enough for him to send him backwards slightly, but it was more punishing for me than it was for him. I know for a fact, I just either fractured or broke my right hand.

Fox was now at peak anger, as he threw everyone off of him and raised his fists once again and punched twice sequentially. One in the ribs, feeling a rib or two break, then one again in the face. Sending me to the ground.

"You fuck! Let me kill him!" Fox yelled, again being restrained, but now everyone took a step further to make sure he couldn't escape. It was hard to do when someone is part machine.

I laid on the ground, having a slight hard time breathing, but every breath I was able to take in. I felt nothing, but a sharp pain. No doubt my ribs were broken.

I turned over onto my stomach, landing on some sort of wrench. I looked down upon it and it looked like it was made out of solid titanium.

I grabbed it and hid it the best I could as I rose back onto my feet. I slowly looked at the group restraining the angry fox, as I spat out a good amount of blood that accumulated in my mouth.

Without any warning, not even Fox. I spun around and the wrench in my hand made contact with his face. It sounded like a hammer hitting the top of an anvil, as sparks flew from the two colliding metals. The impact was hard enough to set Fox and the group backwards a few feet.

I looked down at the wrench and it had completely bent in half, as I discarded it and it flew away from me. Releasing a loud crash when it made contact with the ground. When I heard the crash, I gripped my hand, knowing I just hurt it more. When I looked back up at Fox, I could see a scratch made on his face.

Now, the older vulpine freed himself and ran towards me, embracing me around the neck and began to squeeze as I just looked at him. However, I did not flinch or call out in pain. I just stared at him as my eyes quickly began to turn red.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't snap your neck right now? I hope you don't give me one." He snarled through clinched teeth, wanting to urge to crush everything in my neck, but he released just enough to allow me to speak.

I just looked at him, anger not escaping me as the only option I had was spit in his face. He shut his eyes, as now parts of his face had blood splattered at over him. Instead of killing me, he just threw me across the hanger bay as I crashed into a bunch of barrels.

Zeria wanted to help me as I laid there in pain, but she knew not to. It would only anger Fox even more.

"I went through the exact same thing you're going through." I yelled in pain, as I laid against a barrel, trying to push myself to my feet. "When I was eight, when my parents died. I dropped out of school and slowly started doing drugs. Every kid that knew me was scared shitless and did their best to never saw me again."

Fox stood in front of me, waiting for the right moment to reach down and grab me by the neck once again. He waited for that moment as he continued listening.

"I grew up on the streets and by age eleven. I got mixed with some wrong people and I had to run for my life. By thirteen, I no longer felt emotion as I killed the people who killed my family. People stayed away from me, they knew if they got me angry, I would shoot them right then and there. I couldn't stop being the person I was. I knew my parent's killers were dead, but I still didn't care. People like them deserved to die. When Sam died, I actually found her killers and I went berserk on all their asses. Though, I still wasn't doesn't done there. When I found they worked for Cain, I had to make sure he would pay for what he did to her. I still won't think that killing him is going to cleanse me. I know I will always be like this."

"How the fuck is this suppose to make me from not killing you right now?" Fox said, clinching his fists tight. I stared at them as blood exited between his fingers and fell to the floor.

"It's not." I hesitated, as I turned to spit more blood out of my mouth. "I don't care what you do to me. I just figured you would want to know the whole truth about me. This is why I'm so cold-hearted. Because I just don't know when to stop."

I looked up at him, wincing in pain as I took in every breath. Felt like my ribs were rubbing against my lungs and it was hurting so bad. It wasn't even funny. Though, I just looked up at the older vulpine. Waiting to see if this was it for me.

Fox was tempted to pick me up and snap my neck. He hadn't felt this way in years. When he was Krieger Aurelius.

"You fucking, suicidal bastard." He said, letting out a loud grunt as he slowly walked away from me as I felt everyone muscle in my body relax in succession. I just got up off the ground and stood on my weak legs. I actually chuckled to myself, this was the closest to death I ever had.

"Use that anger. Help me kill Cain." I yelled at him, causing him to stop in place and turn to look at me. "That's what I used when I killed those guys that killed my parents. I made sure they suffered dearly.

The vulpine never answered, he just walked away with everyone following him. Except for Bill, Electra and Zeria. "Come on, kid. Let's get you to the infirmary."

I just slowly shook my head at Bill as I made my way past them. "Don't help me. I don't want Fox mad at you too. I know you guys are mad at me right now. Don't trick me into thinking you actually care about me at the moment."

Everyone just stared in annoyance and shock, but didn't move as I limped away from them. Heading in the opposite direction as Fox and the others. Every so often, I spat up more blood, but it didn't slow me.

"That kid is a total mental case. He's not going to survive to see the end of this mission." Bill mumbled to Electra, as those two walked away.

Zeria just stood there, completely stunned at what just happened a moment ago. Though, to obey the one person she treated like a father. She ran towards Fox, as they just exited the hanger bay.

* * *

Everyone sat on the bridge, getting everything all set up so it could be flown to the nearest space station. I was the only person missing.

"That kid is a fucking prick. I don't know why we let him a part of this team in the first place." Matt called out, as he was very angry at the moment. Just like everyone else. Katt was right next to him, trying to calm him.

"When this is all over, I never want to see him again. He's gone!" Fox yelled, slamming his fist onto the armrest of the captain's chair. Krystal reached for the hand and embraced it with her own. "Zeria. I forbid you from being around him anymore. You got it?"

She looked at him, a look like she was about to cry. Though, she felt the need to say something. "You're taking your anger out on the wrong people, Fox."

"What? You're siding with him?!"

"He has a valid point! He knows what he's talking about. He's been down that path, but he's been down it longer than you have. And did you listen to yourself? You haven't fully recovered from what happened when you were betrayed!"

"I have to recovered!" "You were going to SNAP HIS NECK!" She yelled at him, as she walked up towards him. Stopping a few inches away.

"You still haven't fully recovered from the wound that was imprinted in your heart and the loss of the things you love most just made the wound even worse. Maybe it's you who is still cold-hearted?"

She started to walk away, exiting the bridge as everyone stopped and watched her leave. Fox just had the look like he had been stabbed in the heart.

"Fox? She's right. I can still feel Krieger in you. I felt him when you had Jeff by the neck."

"Don't listen to her, Krystal. She doesn't know what she's talking about." Fox countered, though it wasn't working.

"I'm feeling him now. And I am feeling that you are about to spit up blood." As soon as she finished her sentence, Fox did what she predicted.

Blood oozed out of his mouth, as he looked at the floor in bewilderment. "Every time you coughed up blood, your mindset was always focused on Krieger. Now that he's returned, look at what's happened to you."

Fox slowly looked at Krystal, looking like he was having a heart attack. Then, he slowly looked at everyone in the bridge, but some didn't have the same opinion as Krystal.

Wolf looked at Fox, a look saying that roughing me up was the right then to do. They couldn't believe Krystal and Zeria were siding against him. As well as Fara and Bill, they felt Fox was right and I was wrong. "So what do you want me to do? Go apologize to him?"

"I don't care, but I just hope that when this is all over. You are able to stop from being Krieger because I love Fox too much." Krystal said, walking away from Fox and headed for the exit of the bridge.

* * *

I sat in the mess hall or Ten-Forward as to what the humans had called it. I didn't understand, but I guess it sort of made sense. The most forward part of deck ten. I guess I'm just too stupid to understand completely.

I looked out into space, my bandaged hand wrapped around a cold drink that somehow appeared out of nowhere. This machine made a glass of water out of thin air and it tasted like water too. It was amazing. I laughed at the site, but seeing something that cool couldn't keep me happy for very long.

I occasionally would glance down at my chest, lifting my shirt and seeing the hole that was made in my ribcage. About the size of Fox's fist. I didn't care too much to get it fix properly. I'll just let it heal its own way. Like a friend of mine, who had a baseball to the chest and didn't bother to tell anyone. So now he has a hole in his ribs. **(This is what happened with my brother.)**

This was the first time I actually started thinking about my past, at how much of a terror I really was. Then I thought about the young wolf I once was, before my parent's died. I had a split personality. It was like I was bi-polar.

As I stared out into space, I also started to think about them and Sam. As of this moment, I bet they were rolling in their graves from so much disappointment in me. I felt like I let them down a long time ago. It made me start to cry.

"I'm sorry." I mumbled quietly, before I heard a set of doors hiss open behind me. I wanted to look around, but I didn't want to be in anyone's company at the moment. When I saw it was Zeria walking into my peripheral vision, I wanted to get out of there, but she sat down faster than I got up.

"Hey." She said quietly, but I didn't answer. I just acknowledged her with a barely noticeable nod. "You okay?"

"Doesn't matter. Why are you here? Won't Fox get mad at you?"

"I don't care if he does. I yelled at him and I'm here because I'm worried about you." I started laughing when I heard that.

"So you finally yelled at Fox. Nice." I started laughing even harder and she just looked on with annoyance. "I'm sorry, but I don't see why he needed a good yelling."

"Because he's as much cold-hearted as you are."

"Ooh. Harsh." I said sarcastically as I raised my glass to take another sip of water.

"Look, Jeff. What you said back there was uncalled for. You realize how close you were from getting your neck broken?"

"I knew what would happen as soon as I said that. I knew what would happen to me."

"Then why did you say those things?"

"Because the things that came out of my mouth needed to be heard. I'm trying to help all of you by giving you personal experience."

"But from what you told from us. You're not any better. Chances are you still won't get better after Cain is dead. You are hurting inside and this isn't good for you. Why won't you get help?"

"That's just because I don't care enough about myself to get help. If I live in anger and pain, so be it. I just want her death to be avenged."

"You think she'll be happy if you remain the same?"

"I know she won't, but what does it matter? Look at what I've become. This is who I am and always will be."

"Now that I do not believe."

"Well believe it." I said with an increased tone, a tone that even myself was shocked to hear.

Zeria just stared at me, like she was going to cry, but I didn't sink in. As much as I wanted too, I couldn't.

"My life is too fucked up to be able to return back to the child I was. That person is too far long gone."

"No it's not. It's still in you, buried deep, deep….deep down. Once you feel it again, you'll soon return to your normal self."

"I barely felt it when I was with Sam. It wouldn't resurface completely. That me is dead. This is what's left. A big, fucking nothing."

"Stop with that bullshit." She said, anger starting to fill her.

"NO! I'm a big nothing!" I yelled, just before I felt a hard punch in the face. So hard it knocked me backwards in my seat and I fell to the ground.

I stared up at her, feeling my sore jaw and she walked up next to me, towering over me. "Nice shot."

"You are the biggest pussy I ever met. All you do is complain."

"Yep. That's me." I said with a sore sounding tone. Already feeling my lower lip swelling up.

She kneeled beside me, staring at me with eyes that looked like that could shoot lasers out of them. Though, she leaned forward and planted a quick kiss on my lips.

"Jeff. I know that there's more to you. I know that deep down, that little kid is just waiting to free itself from your hard exterior. You need something to help you get through this all of this."

"You know what I need?!" I yelled at her, releasing my jaw. "What?"

Without any warning, I raised my hand and grabbed the back of her neck, pulling her close to me. Our lips met for several seconds before I released her head to allow her to pull away.

Though, she never did. She used her own hand to grab the back of my neck to deepen the kiss. Before either one of knew it, our mouths opened up and our tongues met.

I once again reached for the back of her neck and further deepen our kiss, but I don't know how it could get any more passionate. Though, somehow. It did.

Our kiss last for what seemed like forever, but I know it only lasted up to ten to fifteen seconds. Though, those seconds were the happiest seconds I have felt in a long time. When we finally pulled away from each other, Zeria swore she could see a color difference in my eyes. Maybe it was just because that the tears forming were just altering the color.

We just continued to stare at each other, not realizing that someone was looking at us from the other side of the doors. Finally, the hissing doors opened and both of us turned to see who it was.

"From what I am feeling from you, Jeff. I'm feeling your true self." Krystal said, as she walked into Ten-Forward, a smile on her face as she approached us.

Zeria lifted herself off of me and extended her arm to help me to my feet, which I gladly accepted as I groaned, trying to get to my feet.

"I tell ya. I haven't felt this way in a while. I kind of seeing things clearly for a change. Kinda nice."

Krystal just smiled and patted my shoulder as I looked at her hand and gave it a quick pat. "I'm sorry for everything that went on in the hanger bay. I was just trying to help all of you get through tough times. Trust me, I been through them."

"I know. Everything you said in there, I was reading your mind and saw everything you gone through from your parent's death till now. I will tell you this. No one has ever gotten so physical with Fox. I thought I did once, but not this bad."

"I knew I was going to lose. Heck. I knew I would die, but I don't let people push me around. I stand up for myself. Even if it meant slamming a wrench in his face."

"I'm feeling the pain you are in. Mentally and physically. You really should take good care of your ribs. As for your head, I'm willing to straighten you out."

"I'll let my ribs heal however they want to. As for my head, not until this is all over. I need to stay like this in order when Cain's finally meets his demise."

"I strongly disagree with you, but I'm not your mother. Though, I might as well be the closest thing to it. The only thing I can order you is it is best to stay away from Fox. I don't know how long he'll be like this. Actually. It's probably best to just go find a place to stay. Everyone is not liking you at the moment."

"Just like my childhood. Along with growing up. Hell. It's basically my whole life, people didn't like me." I said to her, with a laugh as I bent backwards slightly to try to pop my back. "You're the telepath. You'll find me. Zeria. You can follow me if you want, but I think I need a nap."

"I'll call you if we need you." Krystal said, leaning forward as she placed a small peck on the side of my muzzle.

"Thank you." I concluded with her, as I turned around to head for the other exit. Along the way, just as I took my first step. I felt a hand wrap itself in mine and I already knew that it was the silver, furred hand of Zeria's.

Krystal smiled at the sight of us together, before she turned around and went out the other exit.

* * *

"Alright. So what's the situation of the warp core?" Fox asked Ryan, as the husky was hard at work. Trying to get the damn Warp Drive online. He may have the core working, but the drive was still down.

"Think of it like this. Too much fuel, or in this case. Dilithium and drive-plasma. Too much is entering the core at once. It's too damn rich and it's causing it to flood. I just need to figure out how to reduce the amount so I can lean out the mixture. I know this ain't a car, but it's the best analogy I got. Hopefully, I got the drive working in about an hour."

"Alright. In the mean time. We'll get all the other….essential systems working. I'd noticed this thing has inertial dampeners and without them. This is a rough ship to fly. I'll let you and Bill get to work."

"Thank, Fox. And by the way. What you did to the kid? He deserved an ass-whooping." Bill called out from behind the core.

Fox just nodded at him, as he watched Ryan walk away and started getting to work. He knew that everyone else would get to work, making sure the ship was working in decent order.

Right now, he was concerned about a couple people. "Nata……computer? Where is Zeria?" "_There is no record of a Zeria onboard the Enterprise."_

"The young vixen with silver fur." "_On deck ten, section twenty-five." _"And what location is that?" "_Crew quarters." _

Fox growled a little as quickly shot a look at the floor. "Who is she with?" _Admiral Jeff Meiners."_

Fox left the engineering in a quick hurry. As much as he wasn't sure what to feel with the kid right now. He didn't like the idea of him being with Zeria. He was mad at her as well. Disobeying him.

He walked into a turbo lift and it quickly ascended to deck ten. It seemed to take forever to him, but the doors hissed opened and started walking down the hall to his left. Then, just came to a complete stop.

"Computer? Where is section twenty five?" Fox yelled out, as he quickly looked at the wall. As the black panel next to him lit up. When he looked forward, he saw that all the panels in front of him had lit up as well. The ship was showing him which way to go. Not just telling him. "Nice feature."

He took off down the hall, following the lit panels as it led him about one hundred feet down an intersecting hallway. However, he looked at the door and saw no handle or anything that could open it.

He stared at the pad next to the door and the only thing he saw that looked like that could open the door was a red button. His finger depressed the button, but the only thing that happened was a beep.

"Computer? Open this door." "_Proper authority is needed." _Fox cursed loudly and started punching the door, but no dents were caused and the door remained closed. "_Who is it?" _

"You best open this fucking door if you know what's good for ya!" "_Go away, Fox! Zeria and I are trying to have a moment here!"_

Fox, now angry stepped away from the door and pulled out his revolver. He flipped it to the plasma setting and started unleashing rounds, until finally the heat of the plasma weakened the door enough for Fox to push them open.

He charged into the room and saw Zeria and I in bed…..in our underwear. "Put your clothes on right now! I told you to never see him again!"

"I'm not going to listen to that stupid order. You don't control my love life!" Zeria yelled, without leaving the embrace I was giving her.

Fox could not believe what he had just heard and basically grabbed Zeria and ripped her away from me. As he pulled her, he couldn't help, but stop when he heard the sound of a cocking action of a weapon.

They turned around and saw me standing there, my M249 in my hands. "You got to be kidding me, kid. I've been shot before. I lived."

"They didn't use explosion rounds. And I know what I am aiming for." I said, shining the laser at Fox. He couldn't help, but look down at the blue laser that was directly over his heart. He slowly looked back up, he definitely wanted to kill me right now. I could feel it.

"What do I have to do to get back on your good side?" I asked, feeling my hands twitching ever so slightly.

"Stay away from Zeria." "I can't do that. I love her too much to let her go." "Well, you're just gonna have to make that exception."

"You are gonna let go of her and allow her to return to me. I don't want to kill you and I know that the first five rounds will. Everything else will just be overkill."

Fox just glared at me, before finally releasing his grip and immediately Zeria ran towards me. "Now listen. I'm sorry for what I said in the hanger bay. It was definitely out of line, but what you have to understand is your situation is a lot like mine. You're angry for losing your loved ones. Now, you lost all your possessions like I like I lost my fighter. You're filled with rage. That's good. Use it against the ones who hurt you. Make sure they pay for what they did to the Matchitehew. Natasha. Beltino. And most of all. Peppy."

Fox just glared at me, has not once blanked since he walked through those doors. Finally, he let out a sigh and turned his head to his left. Closing his eyes shut. "You break her heart and I'm coming after you."

"That ain't gonna happen." I countered, as I lowered my weapon and wrapped an arm around Zeria's shoulder. Bringing her closer to me.

Fox reopened his eyes and looked at the two of us. He felt the love between us and decided he would never be able to separate us. He just left the room without another noise coming from his mouth.

"I got it, Fox! The core should be up and running now. I just don't know if it's going to work in this bubble." Ryan explained, as he entered the bridge.

"I guess there's only one way to find out. Adrian. What are the speeds?"

"We can go all the way up to…..warp seventeen. I guess saying warp is just like going into jump drive."

Fox gave a satisfied nod in his direction, as Adrian engaged the warp drive. From Ryan and Bill's point of view, they watched the core speed up faster by the second until the engines finally engaged.

The ship's nacelles glowed a pleasant blue, before they dimmed to a dull black, before releasing a bright flash of white while the ship took off at tremendous speeds. It seemed that all of a sudden. The ship vanished from normal space, as all that was left was a white glow. Like when a jet passes the sound barrier.

"We are traveling through warp, huh? How is it possible that we are doing it in this bubble?" Fox mumbled to himself, as he stared at the view screen in confusion. However, he didn't really care because they were now leaving the planet that took everything from him.

"Don't worry, Fox. Cain will get what's coming to him." Krystal said, as she approached her husband, wrapping her arms around him as she sat on his lap.

Fox just looked up at her, not smiling, but resting his head against her breasts. She started to stroke his head as she looked around and a couple people leaving.

"Fara and I are gonna go find a room to stay in. Call us when we arrive at Metropolis." Wolf called out, as he held onto Fara's hand as they headed for the turbo lift.

"Will do." Fox said, not turning around to watch the couple leave. Just kept his gaze fixated on the view screen in front of him.

* * *

I walked with Zeria around the ship, trying to find another room for us to stay in. We traveled to the deck below the bridge. The computer said that this is where the superior officers stayed at when they lived on this ship.

As we walked down the hall, in the distance we saw a door sliding open. Wolf and Fara emerged out of the lift and saw us in the distance. I could already feel the hatred building within Wolf and Fara as the approached us.

I stopped right there in a middle of an intersection, with Zeria standing right next to me. Both of us showing no fear as Wolf and Fara now stood about fifteen feet away from us.

I just mainly watched Wolf walk by me, our eyes focused on each other's with hatred filling them. I knew Wolf wanted to throw a punch, but as much as Fara would've loved to see that. She dragged him as they walked by.

Zeria was tempted to drag me away as well, but she knew I would never have budged. She did wrap an arm around mine, which cut my gaze from Wolf. She put on a smile for me to try and cheer me up.

I did put a smile on her, but when I turned around to watch Wolf and Fara walking away, it disappeared. "Come on. Let's go find a room."

Just as I turned around to start heading in a direction away from the wolf and fennec, I spot another couple heading for us. This couple consisting of a collie and a pink feline.

"Mother fucker." I mumbled, trying for it to be as soft as possible, but Zeria's large ears heard me. She grew as nervous as me as the couple approached us.

"Don't start with me please. I just want to find a room and stay away from everyone."

"Well, maybe you wouldn't have to fear us if you didn't say all those things you did back there?" Matt countered, looking a bit peeved at me, but I do believe the word peeve, is an understatement.

I growled at him, but I did my best to ignore him, but I could feel his stare on me and it was making me angry. I still made my way past them both.

"What's wrong? I figured you would want a piece of me. Considering I'm much weaker than Fox. At least you and I would have a good match." Matt yelled after him, popping his knuckles.

I stood in place, feeling my fists clinching tight. I did my best to free the rage in me, but it was hard to do. Everyone was challenging me now. Just because I said those words. Everyone wants to beat the shit out of me.

"Matt! Stop it. Why are you doing this to him?" Zeria turned around to yell in Matt's face.

"I still can't believe you sided with him instead of us, Zeria. We're your family. You turned against us."

"Oh stop with that bullshit and you know what you just said is. You're probably not mad. You just want to side with your old best friend, Krieger."

"Krieger is a better person than what this fuck ever will be." Matt countered. Katt just lowered her face into her right hand, she knew what was coming.

Basically right on cue, I brought my fist around and it made contact with Matt's face. However, without thinking at all. I punched him with my bad hand. I knew I felt it break the moment it made contact with the collie's face.

Matt traveled back a few steps, before getting pushed back even further by Katt. "Enough! Leave the kid alone. Deal with him later!" Katt said, shoving him away from us. Matt just growled at us, before walking away.

"I understand what you were trying to do, Jeff. Though, you want to start something with all of us. Then by God, I won't be there to protect you when that happens. You understand?" "Understood."

Katt just stared at me, finally nodding at me a she walked away from us. Trying to catch up with Matt, as he was already done the hall.

* * *

It had been about seven hours before we finally reached Metropolis and it truly was a beautiful sight to see. Though, I wasn't on the bridge. I was in my new room with Zeria as we gazed at the large planet beneath us. In the distance, I could see that we were approaching the docking yards.

"I'm gonna go down on the planet. When you go see Fox? Tell him to meet me at Cicero's restaurant in Amp. Okay?"

"Sure, Jeff, but why are you going there?" Zeria asked, as she turned around to look at me. A bewildered look on her face.

"If I tell you, he'll probe your mind. Best he goes down there with a blank mind. No offense to you."

"It's okay."

"Thank you." I said to her, as I leaned forward to kiss her soft lips. The action made the silver vixen smile as I walked out of the room, still limping from before. I might have messed up my knees.

Everyone on the bridge stared forward as Adrian did his best to pilot the ship into the docking yards over Metropolis. To them, it felt good to come back to this planet. Closest thing they had to Corneria.

Adrian was the most determined and had the concentration like no other. His eyes were glued to the panels and the docking yard in front of him.

"I've never seen someone focus on something that hard." Fara commented, as she hovered over Adrian's shoulder, watching him work ever so hard.

"He does have a way to get in a zone and cancel everything around him." Miyu said, smiling at her husband.

Occasionally, he would press something on the terminal in front of him, also looking down to make sure his heading was nice and true. Since he had to do this by eye, double checking was better than crashing.

"Fifty meters to go." Adrian called out, decreasing the ships speed even further than they were a moment ago. One thing Fox had to admit, the arctic wolf was on helluva pilot.

Everyone, excluding Adrian, turned around to see Zeria walking onto the bridge from the turbo lift. She had a nervous look on her face, but everyone didn't pay much attention to her in general.

"Three……" Adrian said, looking down at a diagram on his terminal. It was showing him when the entire ship was inside the docking yard. When it glowed green, he could stop. "Two….."

Fox noticed the wolf's finger was now trembling, he was getting very antsy. He wanted the ship to stop so he could relax. After what has happened recently, pilot this precise was a bit too much for him to handle. "One stop."

He cut the power, the moment he saw his terminal turn green. With the power stopped and the ship's residual speed decreasing to a halt, the Enterprise was docked.

Fox congratulated him by patting his shoulder. "Good job, Adrian. Nice parking."

"Thanks."

Everyone sighed with relief and applauded Adrian for his great docking. Though, the moment ended when everyone remembered Zeria had entered the bridge.

"What do you want?" Wolf blurted out, with a bit of anger and annoyance in his tone. The tone made Zeria begin to regret coming up here, but she had to do something.

"Fox? Go down to the planet and meet Jeff at that restaurant he met up at before."

Everyone turned towards Fox, as he looked back with confusion. "Why?"

"He wouldn't tell me. He just told me to tell you to meet him down there."

Fox just turned to look at Krystal, as she was nodding at him. A nod telling him to go meet me. Fox knew better than to go against his wife. "Alright."

* * *

Fox looked around the area, it felt like he was just here a couple days ago. To be honest, he was. More or less. Anyhow, he saw Cicero's Bistro just down the street. He smiled, "Kinda loving this teleportation shit."

As he made his way down there, he couldn't help, but feel a bit warm. He was wearing clothes like you would on a cold spring day. Though, these warm thoughts left him when he saw me sitting at a table outside the bistro.

He noticed I was talking to someone, a familiar coyote that everyone was talking to during our first visit to this planet. They both turned to look at the approaching vulpine and Cicero stood up to greet the fox.

"Welcome back, Mr. McCloud. Good to see you again." He said, extending his hand with a smile. Though Fox wasn't in the mood, he still had to be polite.

"Thank you, Mr. Cicero. Good to see you again as well."

"Jeff has told of what has happened, so you don't need to put this cheery act on. I'm sorry for your loss."

"Thank you, sir. It's just been hard, you know?"

"Absolutely I do. It's not easy dealing with death, especially with someone you were very close with. I just hope you're able to do something about it other than beating up this poor kid here."

"I told you, Mr. Cicero. I deserved it." I said, entering the conversation. Causing both dogs to turn towards me.

"That may be…" He said, before turning back around towards Fox. "Beating up your partner and friend isn't the way to deal with your anger and grief. There are others options."

"I know."

The coyote just patted Fox's shoulder, before he turned around and saw his buck bodyguard calling for him.

"If you excuse me. I got some business to take care of. Good luck with the rest of your hunt. Again, I am sorry."

"Thank you, sir. Good luck to you too."

Cicero just nodded, as he walked away. Leaving me alone with Fox, as he slowly lowered his head and glared at me. "Well?"

I just sighed as I cut my eye contact with him, before I signaled him to sit down. With a bit of hesitation, he approached the table and walked around the fence surrounding the bistro and took a seat across from me.

We sat there in silence, not a word coming from us. My eye contact was cut off as I could feel Fox's piercing hatred towards me.

"Just fucking hit me already so we can talk."

"I'm not going to because of Zeria."

"Just fucking hit me already, for fuck's sake. God knows I deserve it."

The vulpine sighed with a little growl. "Okay." Fox said, as he pulled his revolver out of his holster and pistol whipped me across the face, and sent me into the fence. Banging my head on the edge, giving myself a concussion on both temples.

I laid there for a moment, unable to comprehend what had just happened, but perhaps the blood oozing out of my head from both temples had something to do with my confusion.

I uneasily got off the ground and straightened my chair and just happily plopped down on it. I no longer felt normal. I felt like I was going to die, but it'll have to wait.

"Alright…..listen." I barely squeaked out, trying to compose my thoughts. I hadn't expect a pistol whip. I couldn't explain the pain, but I definitely felt like throwing up.

"Before I started talking…..to…umm. What was his name? The coyote?"

"Cicero."

"That spelled with a 'S'?"

"No, you fucking moron."

I just stared blankly at him, before shaking my head, but that was a bad idea. Gave myself a worse headache than I already had.

"Anyhow, I called a contact of mine I know and he's told me a location on where Cain is."

"This contact of your's a friend?"

"I don't remember."

"Oh stop being a bitch! I didn't hit you that hard!" Fox growled, getting absolutely annoyed with me.

"Fifty bucks says you cracked my skull."

"You're on." Fox spoke, as he watched me struggle to maintain awareness.

"He's on Midnight at the moment. He'll be there for about two days, but I asked about when the Enterprise will be done. Forty hours. Meaning it'll take six to get to Midnight and only two hours to find Cain. My plan is we wait for him, then…….." I stopped, I no longer had the ability to maintain my focus. My concussion was hitting me badly now, I wanted to pass out.

Fox just sighed, as he pulled out his cell phone and called Krystal. Took about two rings, before her soft voice filled his ear. "_Yes, Fox?"_

"Krys. You better teleport us up there. The kid……he hurt his head."

There was silence, "_You mean you hurt his head? With a certain revolver, maybe?"_

"Yeah. Maybe. Just hurry up. He has a concussion and…….probably a cracked skull."

"I…..told ya." I managed to say, as I just dropped my head onto the tabletop. Becoming absolutely silent, vomit slowly exiting my mouth and began to mix with the blood dripping from my head. Fox just stared blankly at me. "_Zeria is going to hate me for this."_

"_I hate you too, Fox. Or should I say…Krieger?"_

"Alright. I'm sorry, but hurry up. I don't know what will happen to him if we don't get him some medical help now."

"_I'll tell Ryan immediately. Just try and keep him conscious. If he passes out, I think it may end up being more serious than if he were awake."_

"I think he's passed out." The vulpine said, poking me with no avail. I was out cold.

"_Shit. You dick." _She said, hanging up the phone. Leaving Fox with me. Though, Fox couldn't help, but be happy with his results. I got what I deserved. It made him smile.

* * *

Fox materialized just as I did as well. Though, the moment I did, I collapsed to the ground and actually rolled off the teleported pads and onto the floor a few steps below. Zeria was absolutely pissed.

Though, she didn't show it except for the glare Fox received, as she did her best to lift me. Electra and Bill helped her out, but everyone else just watched.

Wolf and Matt just laughed at the sight, Adrian just stared emotionlessly, while everyone else just wondered how I was still alive. Or even if I were still alive at all.

Though, their answers were solved when Krystal came up from behind Fox and shoved him to the floor. "You fucker! Why did you do that to him? You could've killed him!"

"He told me to hit him!" He countered back as he got up from the floor.

"But he didn't say pistol whip him!"

"You pistol whipped him?" Wolf asked, silencing his laugh, when he turned to look at Fox. All he did was nod.

"Nice." Wolf spoke, as his laughter got even louder, but it all came to an end when a bullet round whizzed right by his head. Missing him by inches. Krystal had fired a shot.

"You trying to kill me?!"

"It would've stopped your laughter either way!"

"You crazy bitch." Wolf mumbled, getting a severe glare from the cerulean vixen, but her focus went back towards Fox.

"If he had brain damage, or even a cracked skull…….I'm going to shoot you." She said, turning around and ran down the hall. Trying to catch up with Zeria and the others.

Fox just looked around the room, still getting chuckles from Wolf and Matt, while the others looked like they didn't care much for the situation. Well, except for Adrian and Miyu. They actually looked concerned. This upset Fox actually, knowing if Adrian, of all people, were upset about this. I might be in serious trouble.

"Fuck." The vulpine mumbled, beginning to feel disappointed in himself. "_Glad Peppy isn't here. Or I have an ear full from him. But then again, I wouldn't be like this." _

* * *

Zeria hovered over my bed, holding my hand as I laid there unconscious. Bill managed to get my head stitched up and wrapped in a bunch of gauze. I looked like a mess.

"I don't know how long he'll be out, but he's not going to be happy when he does. He's going to be very groggy and will have the biggest headache ever. Though, he probably won't be angry with you."

"Yeah. Thanks, Bill. Thank you, Electra." Zeria said, hugging them both, as they allowed her to be alone with me. Well, alone with me and Krystal.

Krystal just sat in a chair over in the corner of the room, looking at Zeria, as she continued to stare at me. Tears were filling her eyes.

"He'll be okay, honey. Just give him time."

"Fox could've fucking killed him. Luckily, this ship has the technology to cure cracks in bones. Fox is such an asshole."

"I know he is, but you should say those things about him."

"I don't care."

Krystal just sighed, as the doors flew open and Adrian and Miyu entered the room. They both nodded towards the two vixens, then turned to look at the unconscious lupine.

"He going to be okay?"

"Yes, Adrian. Bill doesn't know how long he'll be out, but he'll be fine. Fox fractured his skull when he pistol whipped him, but as Jeff fell. He hit the other side of his head on a fence. So, he has concussions on both sides."

"Poor bastard." The arctic wolf responded, as he watched Miyu approach the bed side, to get a better look at me.

"Hasn't this been a fun day for him?" Miyu commented, as she stroked her hand over my bandaged forehead.

"Not funny."

"Look. Reason we are also here is because Fox wants to have a meeting. He's in the office behind the bridge, so come on. Let's go."

"I'm not leaving Adrian. I'm staying here."

"I figured as much. You two are becoming almost inseparable. We'll inform you when the meeting is over."

"Thanks." Zeria said, as she turned around to look at my unconscious form. Krystal quietly approached Zeria from behind and kissed her cheek, before leaving to hear what Fox had to say.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey there everyone! New chapter finally up and before you start reading. A few things we must go over. One: I find that this chapter was hard to type and i lagged quite a bit with the excitement. For that I am truly sorry. It is never my intention to bore the readers. Two: My style of writing i felt changed a bit once I actually got the chapter going with a plot. Hopefully you will notice and you find it much better reading. Three: You noticed i changed the rating to T. That's a lie. It is rated M, but i want my story to go more noticed. Just trying to improve the hit count. So no confusion, it's rated M, not T. Those are the three things, but again. I apologize if this chapter is not exciting at first. And I hope you don't stop reading. I want you to continue so my next chapter, I'll make it 110% better. Thank you. With no more interruptions, I present to you, Star Fox: Fear Styx Omega-Chapter 6. _NOTE: I DON'T OWN STAR FOX OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS, EXCEPT FOR ADRIAN, COOPER, MATT AND ZERIA. OF COURSE MY CHARACTER BECAUSE IT'S MY NAME. LOL_**

Everyone gathered to the meeting Fox assigned about the current situation with this whole bounty garbage. So far, the bounty, Randall Cain, has managed to destroy Fox's flagship, the deaths of two, very well-respected people everyone on Corneria has ever known.

These were troubled times for Styx Omega, as one member was now in the emergency room, getting severely beaten up, by his team leader that suffered a huge emotional breakdown.

Fox stood along side both Wolf and Katt, as they looked out into space, while the others conversed amongst each other, waiting for Krystal, Bill, Electra, Adrian and Miyu to return.

This gave everyone time to just think of what has happened. One thing that was always on their mind. What would their children think of all this?

That was the biggest concern out of all the concerns and questions the team could think of. They just simply loved Peppy. They thought he was the greatest person ever, well besides their parents. They adored him. Now he was gone.

How would the people of Corneria think of this? How was everyone in Lylat going to respond about this? Next to General Pepper, Peppy was the greatest general ever. Fox knew the people were going to criticize Styx Omega for this.

The hiss of the door opening brought everyone's attention towards who was stepping into the room. Fox sighed when he saw his wife, with the most frightening glare any woman can give to a man. Everyone man in that room, hid their faces because they just couldn't look at the horror.

"You fucking fractured his skull and gave him a concussion on both sides of his head. He won't be awake for a while, but we don't know for sure." Krystal said, without any hit of her accent, it sounded almost demonic. It sent chills through everyone.

Fox just stared out into space, trying his best not to look his wife in the eye. Fox may be tough, but he knew that he should never get Krystal angry. Well, his actions gave her enough reason for him to be afraid of her.

"Zeria didn't bother to come, Fox. She doesn't want to see you right now. Her exact words were 'Fox is such an asshole.'" Bill commented, a little nervous to be speaking after listening to Krystal.

Fox still didn't turn around, still continuing to hide his face. This was making Krystal getting very agitated for not having the balls to look them in the eye.

Fox yelled in pain, as he collapsed to the ground, holding his head as it felt like a vise was crushing his head. It wasn't a vise though, but it might as well have been. With Krystal using her telepathy to enter his mind and mess with it painfully.

Everyone stood there shocked, as they have figured that Fox must've been blocking his mind to prevent this from happening. Well, it turned out that Fox wasn't even worrying about his mind being crushed by his wife. A big mistake by him, as well. His response speak louder than words, I must say.

"I find this much more painful than a gun wound. So, I decided to see how you would react when someone messes with your head."

"God damnit! Please, I'm sorry, but get out of my head. This is unbearable!"

Krystal didn't respond for several seconds, before finally releasing her telepathy from the poor fox's mind.

"Yeah. That would hurt." Wolf commented, as he looked down at Fox, as he laid there, unable to let go of his head.

"You want to see what it feels like, Wolf?" Wolf quickly looked up at Krystal, rapidly shaking his head no, in total fear of her. "Then shut the fuck up!"

The room was now in total silence, as everyone looked at Fox, still on the floor grabbing his head in pain.

Zeria continued to hold my hand, as I laid there motionless. This gave her enough time to examine all of my injuries. Well, for starters. My wrapped head from receiving the worst concussions of my life. Followed by my swollen face when I was beaten up by Fox earlier this morning.

Then, her gaze lowered as she gazed upon my bare chest. She cringed in disgust, when she took her free hand and rubbed it against my ribs, feeling a sudden cave before it rose again. The hole in my ribs.

She turned her gaze back up to my face and started to cry. Even though I was out, I looked like I was in a mass amount of pain.

She leaned forward and placed a kiss on the side of my muzzle, hoping that the sudden touch may stir me a little, but I remained still. She cried a little more.

"Please return to me soon, Jeff." She said in between sobs, resting her head on my chest. "I love you."

Fox finally got up from the floor, still clinching his head from the severe pain he just witnessed a few moments ago. There wasn't a doubt he deserved what he did, but he also knew that I deserved for what I said. Even though what I said, was true.

"Okay. We got this out of our systems. Thank Christ…ugh!…..Can we continue?"

Everyone was already nodding their heads in agreement, but Krystal just stood there. Her eyes fixated on Fox with a piercing glare. Fox was afraid to say anything, because he knew this woman was very emotional. He sighed with relief when she nodded her head and took a seat.

"Okay….ugh, fuck!" Fox said, still gripping his head and bent over into a throw-up position, but he never did. His head was just killing him. "We got about two days for us to think of a plan for when we finally meet up with Cain. If we are able to find him on time."

"He's on Midnight from what we heard from the kid's contact. And from what Peppy told us. Midnight is basically the most dangerous planet in the Outer Cinco Region. It's going to be tough trying to find him in just two hours."

"Slippy? You, Fay and Fara are by far, the smartest on this ship. When we arrive at Midnight, I'm gonna have you be scanning the surface for anything that might help us find Cain. You can't do that now, not just because the ship is wrecked, but because this ship has no record on Midnight. Actually, it doesn't really have any info in this part of the galaxy at all."

"I guess that's what happens when this ship has been drifting through space in a dead state for so many decades. It missed out on a lot of things." Ryan pointed out, as he rested his head on the table.

'Alright. In the mean time, get some rest. Clear your heads." Fox said particularly to himself, as he kinda gazed in Krystal's direction. "It's the only thing we can do while the Enterprise is being fixed. Until that happens….I'm just repeating myself. Get out of here."

Everyone slowly dispersed out of the room, only Krystal remained where she was. Not once taking her eyes of the chestnut colored fox. Fox just stared at the table, feeling her eyes on him.

Matt and Katt entered the sickbay, finding Zeria asleep on my chest. Her face was slightly stained from the falling tears. It actually made them sad to see such a sight.

As they closed the door behind them, the sound startled Zeria from her nap and jumped from the sudden increase in sound. "I'm awake!"

"Sure you are." Matt joked, as I approached the bed behind Zeria, looking down at me. "How is he doing?"

"Hasn't moved at all. Not even a twitch. I wouldn't be surprised if he were in a coma."

"I don't think he is. Bill or someone would've said something about that. I think he's just in a deep loss of consciousness."

"Well, I certainly hope he wakes up soon. I hate seeing him like this." Zeria said with slight annoyance towards the older couple. Matt sensed it.

"Look. Reason Katt and I are here is because we wanted to apologize to him, but since he's out cold. We hoped maybe it'll cheer you up a little."

"Well. I be happier if he were awake so he could hear this, but since he isn't and you both are still apologizing. Well, it does help a little."

Katt walked up to Zeria and kneeled in front of her, embracing her in a hug. "We were wrong about before. Well, I know I am. I don't know if Matt completely agrees, but Fox does have similarities with this. He's been through this. I don't know why we didn't just agree with him."

"I guess we were mad because we thought the kid was just being cold. We were hearing his words, but we still thought of him as cold-hearted. It made us angry, that's all."

The young vixen sighed as she turned to look at the sleeping wolf. "I guess he was a little cold, but still didn't give Fox enough excuse to do this to him."

"Like what Krystal said before. He definitely was acting a lot like Krieger when all that was happening. Jeff just got the worst out of the whole ordeal."

"You think?"

"When the kid wakes up, please let everyone know. We all want to see how he is doing. A lot of us have become really worried about him."

"Nothing to say asshole?" Krystal said, as she continued to sit in her chair, her legs kicked back, just staring at her husband.

Fox was finally able to look up, still seeing anger within his wife's eyes, but he knew he had to gain the courage to talk to her. "I got stuff to say. I got lots of stuff to be said."

"Good. Start talking."

"Well first off…" Fox started, groaning for a moment as he reached up to rub his head. "Don't ever enter my mind like that again."

Krystal didn't consider the threat as she probed his mind once again, however. Like a bat to the head, Fox's superior mental wall blocked Krystal's attempts, causing her to grab her head in pain. "Alright! I'll stop. Just put down your wall!"

"No. Not until I know it's safe. In the mean time, it remains up."

Krystal just glared at her husband, but nodded to him, allowing him to continue. "Okay. Second, both the kid and I were wrong in certain ways. He shouldn't have sounded so cold and I shouldn't have done the things to him like I did. When he wakes, I'll apologize."

"That would be nice, for both him and Zeria."

"Third, I want to stop fighting with you because we did that once and you realize how bad it tore us apart?"

"I thought, if anything, it brought us closer to each other?"

"Well, it may have, but it also made me want to kill you. So, let's stop this so we can work together to put this man behind bars."

"I like i…" Krystal began, but stopped just about mid sentence, when she looked up towards the ceiling.

Fox sensed it too, as he did the same only he looked down towards the floor. They stayed like that for about three seconds each before they brought their gazes together. "He's up."

Zeria continued to sit next to my bed, waiting anxiously for any signs of me waking up. Though, it seemed that she would be waiting hours for that. **Groan.**

Zeria quickly shot her eyes towards my face, as she could see a little bit of movement within my facial structure. Followed by one eye, the right eye, slowly starting to open.

"Jeff!" The young vixen yelled, as she leaned forward, smiling at the fact that I was now starting to come around.

My eye slowly started to open a little further as every second went by. It made Zeria happy to see me awake, but then all of a sudden. She grew worried.

Both my eyes shot open, as I quickly sat up and turned towards the side of the bed, vomiting whatever it was that was in me.

The vixen watched in worry, even more so when she saw that what vomited out of my mouth, was blood.

I fell back into a laying down position, blood dripping out of my mouth and onto my chest. "Oh my God. Jeff."

I just looked at her with weary eyes, trying my best to open my mouth to produce words, but it was extremely hard to do. It was like trying to breath after having your lungs stomped on. It was like you were frozen in terror and you couldn't even breath.

"Come on, Jeff. Start talking." She said, putting light pressure on my chest, hoping that would help me produce a syllable, but it was still very hard to do.

Finally, after about three minutes of silence, "Just…blood….from my….mouth."

"I can see that. We need you a doctor. You could have internal injuries."

"No." I said, shaking my head from side to side.

"You don't have internal…"

"No."

Zeria sighed with relief, as she held me close, kissing my blood-stained forehead. "I love you so much."

"How….long was…I out?"

"About an hour. I thought it would've been longer than that. How are you feeling?"

"How…..do you think….I feel?"

"Excellent?"

"Pre…cisely." I said, almost falling back asleep, but I forced myself to stay awake. "I love you too."

The doors slid open, Zeria looking to see Fox and Krystal had stepped into the room. I looked at Zeria, seeing furious anger written all across her face, as I did my best to move my head to look at what she was staring at.

"Don't move your head, kid. I'll walk towards you."

I saw Fox's face enter my field of vision, with a phony smile on his face, it seemed he was trying to act friendly towards me. A surprised shocked everyone.

A fist connected with Fox's face, making him flinch ever so slightly, as he looked down to see me grabbing my fist with mass pain. "Smart."

"Fuck you! Oh, I just broke my hand even more."

"Just get out of here, Fox!" Zeria said, continuing to show her hatred towards him.

"I'm here to apologize."

"Accepted. Someone pop my fingers back in!"

Fox looked down and saw that two of my fingers were out of their sockets. He just grabbed my hand and basically twisted in a certain way, only a loud pop was heard. Plus my yelling.

"Yeah. That must've hurt."

"Fuck off." I pathetically countered back, as I tried to get out of the bed. My elbows couldn't even have enough strength to prop me up. I was down for a while.

Everyone just stared at me, as I laid on that bed, my hand absolutely still. It hurt enough as is, the last thing I needed was to hurt it even more. "Well? How do I look?"

"Like you received the biggest beating ever." Fox replied, earning a few looks from the two females. "Shutting up."

"I actually found that a little humorous. Or maybe it's the fact that the morphine level has been increasing ever since I woke up. Either way…."

"You're not on morphine. You're taking Vicodin. We managed to find some pills and we grinded it and put it into water. I don't know if this is possible, but it's working better than morphine."

I just smiled at no one in particular. I just continued to stare straight ahead of me. "Happy times."

"Is it possible to get high off Vicodin?" Krystal asked, looking down at my pathetic state.

"I think he's making it possible. Maybe we should just let him sleep. He needs more strength if he is able to get out of that bed."

"You can't stay in bed if you want to avenge Sam."

My smile vanished and rage started to fill my body. "The old fox has a point."

"Watch it, kid. I'm not that old."

"You're old enough to be considered my elder. Either way, get me out of this bed so I can start preparing my body for what Cain has in store for him."

"You get out of this bed, your body will not like you. I recommend that you stay in bed for the rest of the day. Tomorrow, you can get up." Zeria said, rubbing my head.

"What time is it?"

"Ten in the morning." Katt said, as she glanced at her watch.

"Oh fuck that. Help me up. Now!"

"Alright, Ryan. Explain to me what this ship has as weaponry."

"Well, Wolf. It's quite simple. No longer are the blasters we are so used to having. No. This ship is equipped with what the humans called Phasers. A beam of energy basically. Same premise as blasters only it's a continuous beam. Next thing, this ship has three kinds of torpedoes."

"Three? What the fuck for?"

"Each one with their own ability you could say. The first one, Photon Torpedoes. The most basic of the torpedoes. Packs a punch, but nowhere near strong enough compared to the others."

"Well, why don't you just tell me already?"

"Chill, Wolf. Second. Quantum Torpedoes. About three to four times stronger than Photon Torpedoes. Third. Tri-Cobalt Torpedoes. About the same strength as Quantum torpedoes only they have the ability to penetrate any shielding. Thus, making them the perfect weapon to use when taking down large enemies. Down side, they don't home in on their target. It's basically aim and shoot."

"Alright. That's pretty impressive, I must say. The humans are pretty intelligent. Now, next question. How many do we have in storage?"

Ryan just chuckled at the question, which made Wolf just stare at him with an irritated glare. "Sorry. Here's the kicker. The armory is completely filled."

"What? How the fuck is that possible? Wouldn't the humans have used them trying to defends themselves from Cain?"

"I don't know what happened, but what I do know is that this ship got away with the damage we have now, but with a full-armory. I don't know."

"Alright. Well, with the power we received from the Matchitehew. Will this increase the power for the weapons?"

"At least three fold. Plus, along with power. I received something in the data that Fox may like."

"What's that?"

"I'll just wait till he gets down here. I called him before you just arrived. He should be here in a few minutes."

"Alright. I'm gonna have a quick talk with Bill. I can't get him away from the rifles he and I saw in there."

"Alright. Well, I'm gonna continue working with this. I have a feeling Adrian may be in there. Call him in here. I need his help configuring some things."

"Would you like a Jager with that as well?"

"Yes. That would be lovely."

"Shut the fuck up."

It has been a day since the Enterprise and her small crew arrived at the docking yard above the planet, Metropolis. Spirits and morals was way low since the death of Peppy, Beltino and the loss of the Matchitehew.

Everyone did their best to keep themselves active to prevent negative thinking, but sometimes. It was just too hard to do.

I finally got out of bed, after it took me about thirty minutes to finally gather enough strength to remain on my feet. Even then, I couldn't maintain a strong balance.

Everyone in the room with me thought I was a complete dumbass for getting out of bed so quickly. I'm sorry, but I have been known to getting up immediately after I've been hurt. (**Note: This is true, but I have never had a concussion. So, this is making me sound tough, but I have a feeling. In real life, I be in bed for a while. So, if you don't like this part, forgive me, but I can't have my character sit in bed for days. The story will get too boring. LOL)**

Zeria was always there next to me, helping me to my feet in case I decided to collapse and fall face first into the floor. That was one thing she wouldn't allow.

Each step I took felt like it took a lot of my life away from me. Every step I took seemed to have taken a year of my lifespan away. Very tiring.

Though, besides the fact that everyone thought I was a dumbass. They had to respect the fact that I was trying to get better quickly. They knew I was doing this for Sam.

Everyone watched me walk the very few steps my legs were allowing per minute, at the same time. They stared at the shape I was in.

In case you don't remember, I had been beaten up by Fox. My marks from him are of the following, a punch in the face from him, a broken hand from which I broke from punching his metal face, punching Matt and punching Fox in the face once again. A hole in my ribs from Fox's fist and two concussions from being pistol whipped and falling onto a fence. **I know, I should be dead.**

While I was walking down this path with Zeria, Bill took notes of how my body was reacting during each step I took. He recommended I should lay down because every step I took, my body wasn't reacting the way it should.

"I can't Bill. I just can't lay around. I need to get better."

"Come on, kid. Your body is going to destroy itself if you keep this up. You realize how much strain you are putting on your knees right now?"

"Been like that for a couple years now, Bill. My knees are falling apart and that was before this."

"Come on, Jeff. Maybe you should relax a bit. What's one more hour in bed? We can cuddle."

"As nice as that sounds, Zeria. I just can't do that. I'm too fucking stubborn. I don't know when to quit."

"You'll know when to quit once your knees snap." Electra commented, watching the monitor that was displaying my body. My knees were on the verge of letting go.

"They're not going to snap. They've been hurting for years. They aren't going to let go now."

"Hope you're right. I don't want Krystal to blame me for this."

"Don't worry, Bill. I'll take full blame. Even though, she'll yell at you for not forcing me to stop."

"Yeah, I know."

"Alright, Cooper. What is so important that you had to call me down here in such a hurry?"

"I never said ASAP, Fox. I just said 'I got something to show you."

"That sounds like be quick to me."

"Well, you are deaf then, but either way. I'm glad you are here now. This is going to make your day."

"Well, let's have it already."

Cooper just chuckled as he began to mess around with a computer screen. Hearing a few confirming beeps indicated that his key commands were successful.

"Computer? State your name."

"_I am the computer A.I. for the Lylatian Vessel Matchitehew."_

Fox quickly shot his gaze upwards, a small tear slowly starting to form in his eye. He couldn't believe what he heard. "Natasha?"

"_Name does not comply. You may refer to me as 'computer'."_

"Son of a bitch. I'm gonna have to re-teach her everything she knew." Fox growled at the thought, but slowly back up to the husky. "Thank you, Cooper. How did you find her?"

"She was in the data that was sent over from your ship before it blew up. I guess she wasn't done living without you just yet. She must've known."

"Anyway. You brought her back to me. Thank you so much."

"Jesus, pup. Pull yourself together. It's just a computer." Wolf sighed with a hint of annoyance in his tone. A tone that Fox didn't like.

"Fuck off, Wolf. I love that computer."

It seemed those days had past rather quickly as everyone had stuff they needed to do in order to prepare themselves for their journey to the dark planet of Midnight.

The Enterprise was a mere couple hours away from being totally completed and by the look of things. Fox seemed to be pleased the most with how the ship was turning out.

He smiled always because what he didn't know was until Ryan had told him about Natasha, was that fact that she had teleported several key components that made the Matchitehew so advance. Weapons, shielding, sensors, and it all came into the form of one CPU. Of course this CPU was the size of a dumpster, it contained everything it needed to make the Enterprise its new home.

Fox slowly felt like he was back on his beloved ship, as everyday. He slowly taught her to become her once former self. It felt like he was talking to ROB again, but at least he had a little humor. Natasha now was just so emotionless.

"Come on, Natasha. You know that's your name. Why won't you accept that?"

"_It's kinda hard to accept a name when I am only a computer. Now what kind of self-diagnostics would you like me to do?"_

"I don't want you to do a diagnostic. I want you to acknowledge your name is Natasha."

"_Unable to comply."_

"You were never this difficult."

"_That's what she said."_

Finally, the crew was absolutely ecstatic about their new ship leaving dock. Seemed like forever since they traveled the dark, long depths of space, but now wasn't the time to be enjoying the scenery. "Adrian. You know what to do. Maximum warp to the planet Midnight."

"Roger, Fox. Course laid in. Give me the command."

"Why the fuck do you need a command?"

"ENGAGE!" Krystal yelled, with a tone of annoyance and anger and that got Adrian excited to engage the newly designed engines.

"Come on, baby. Show me your speed." Ryan mumbled to himself, with his wife Fay next to him, which she clearly heard him say. She smiled at him, knowing that his main goal was that there wouldn't be any problems with the Core. He spent two days and one night, making sure everything was fine.

As everyone stared at the view screen, everything around them seemed to have turned into some sort of distorted subspace field, which seemed to lasted a few seconds, before they now watched stars fly past them in a matter of seconds.

Adrian had his eyes glued to the indicator in front of him, watching the speed steadily increase. Ryan and Bill had their eyes glued to the status of the warp core, hoping they would not see any signs of deterioration or signs of breaches.

They remained silent for many minutes, Adrian called out saying that they had reached their maximum velocity of warp nineteen. Fox was surprised to hear that the remaining engine parts from the Matchitehew had increased the engine's power. This would cut their trip short by a little less than forty minutes. This made the crew happy, especially Slippy, Fay and Fara. This allowed them to be able to find signs of where Cain could be knowing that they had extra time. They planned on using every second given to find this prick.

"Alright. We have less than five point half hours left. Prepare yourselves. Adrian. We'll be using your drop ship once again. Make sure its sensors are working because from what Peppy has told us about Midnight. It's not a planet to be trifled with. Make sure they are working properly. Everyone else, do what you got to do."

Everyone started to disperse and left the bridge, leaving only Fox and Krystal alone on the bridge. To most, they would use this opportunity to do something sexual. Well, guess what? They are. **HA!**

Of all people to be helping Slippy, was none other than Wolf. Though he wasn't there because of Slippy. Hell no. He was there because of his wife. He usually had a keen eye for pinpointing certain things thinks to his optic implant and this went the same with radar. This feature always made him the smart one of Star Wolf. Mainly because Panther and Leon were complete dumbasses. The crown was soon turned over when Fara came aboard. She then became the smart one.

"We are still very far from the planet, but from I can see. There seems to be a lot of activity from this area over here. What would be the Northern Pole."

"How can you see that Slippy? I'm reading nothing because of all the interference." Fay said, giving the toad the stink eye because even years later. Those two still had a rivalry of who was the best. Well, right now. The scale was leaning towards Slippy.

"More of a common sense sort of thing, but look at the very edge of the pole. I see a little discoloration. Meaning that area was inhabited not long ago." Wolf leaned over the toad's shoulder and used his vision to clarify Slippy's claims. He did notice a little yellow next to the white. That could've been anything though, Wolf thought, but it was a good place to look as the ship drew closer to the dark planet.

"Alright. That's a good place to put all the sensors. Start a sweep of that area, see if you can penetrate the interference. Plus, it is a common sense sort of thing. Smart, toad."

"Thanks, Wolf. That's he nicest thing you ever said to me."

"Because you always screw up."

"Shut up, Falco."

Now the story draws itself towards me, but where do we find me? Well, you could find me in the mess hall grabbing a bite to eat. You could find me in the armory as you could watch me pick out a good weapon, but al those guesses are just bad. I sat in my room, polishing up my two weapons, the SAW and the PT99.

Zeria sat in the other room, changing into the proper clothing that would be best for battle. Though still a little timid about fighting. She knew this would had to end sometime soon. She didn't want to let anyone down anymore. As she dressed herself in some tight jeans that hugged her athletic legs and her firm butt, my attention was soon drawn over to her.

I stared at her legs, but that didn't last very long when I saw her lifting her shirt over her head. It was a tank top that she had put on earlier, but now she was replacing it with a black sweater. My ears drooped a little when I watched her put on her Kevlar vest, which hid her bust very well.

I gave a slight sigh as I brought my attention back to my weapons, putting down the rag and inserted a belt of rounds into the SAW. Was never really hard, just made sure that the rounds were sitting in the chamber properly before you close the top.

"You okay, Jeff?" The sudden voice of the woman that I really cared for startled me slightly as I jumped ever so slightly, but I brought my gaze so I could stare at her lovely face.

"What brought that up?"

"I meant how are you feeling? I'm just wondering."

"Oh. Well, I still have a bit of a headache. Of course that's a bit of an understatement, but I'll be fine. No worries."

"Well. You think you should go on this mission?" "I got to. For Sam. It needs to be done. I'll be fine, Zeria. Come over here." I asked her, waving my hand at her to try and get her to come over. She did oblige as she came over to me and sat on my lap. I held her tight and couldn't help, but take in a couple whiffs of her perfume. Kinda like a mixture of citrus and lavender.

"I'm just worried about you Jeff. What Fox did to you probably would've killed anyone, but I have a feeling he held back a bit."

"A bit? Man pistol whipped me in the head."

"Well. I think before that. What he did to you in the hanger bay. I think that was held back a bit."

I turned my head and stared at the wall, recalling what exactly happened back in the hanger. Fox did beat me up quite a bit, but he was a bit soft. "Maybe. All I know is that I got a couple stitches on both sides of my head. Broken ribs. Etcetera etcetera etcetera…."

Zeria looked down at me, her beautiful gray looking straight into my green eyes. She was absolutely beautiful. She was a dead ringer of Sam, but something about her made the slightest differences. I couldn't explain it. All I could say was that she made me happy. Second time in my life every since the death of my family. I was able to say I was happy. I just didn't realize that the two girls I fell in love with ended being almost identical to each other.

"Come on. I wanna make sure you are going to be okay. I'm gonna take you to sickbay."

I groaned at that thought, but just to make her happy and just to avoid confrontation. I got up from my seat and followed her, our hands connected and our fingers interlocked with one another.

**(Alright. I'm going ahead because I fear I'm dragging a lot in this chapter. So I'm moving ahead to the arrival at Midnight. I hope I didn't lose any readers. That would suck.)**

The sight of the dark planet really meant what everyone had said about it. From the space above, the planet looked to be a very dark mixture of gray with a hint of purple. Kind of like a dark smoky color. The only thing that would brighten up the planet was the lightning within the clouds below. Kinda reminded you of sunspots, but these were white and would last only for a second. Two to three the seconds at the most. Plus with no other planets or not even a star around. This world was very strange. One thing that made it kinda of enjoyable were its rings of silver. Properly had to have the same amount of Saturn, but these rings, every single ring, was silver. Maybe even platinum. Glorious to stare at, but it was bittersweet however. This was just a weird planet to be around. No wonder Cain came here.

"Alright, Slip. What do you got?" Fox said, as he hovered over the right shoulder of his amphibian friend, as he typed away at his console. For the last couple hours, about three. Just when the ship's sensors started picking up the planet. He been doing all he could to try and pinpoint where Cain could be, but with little time of scanning and little time they had left. He basically had nothing to offer.

"I'm sorry, Fox, but I just couldn't get anything. I can say that if I had to guess where he was. It would be in this region right here." The toad said, as he pointed at the screen in front of him, his finger highlighting an area of about twenty square miles.

"Why here?"

"This area right here, is heavily mountainous and the material that made these mountains, produce a magnetic field that interacts with the lightning above. Making it a bit hard to penetrate, but if I had to guess. It be here, but there's a catch."

'What you mean?"

"He may think this. He may think we would check this area out. Which brings me to this area on the other side of the planet. To this region…here." Slippy said, as he pointed at another area on the other side, in another mountainous area. "This area, same results, but I am picking up something."

Fox leaned forward and looked at the screen, seeing little discoloration, but it matched perfectly with the active storms that were happening below. "What about it?"

"A very tiny area, ever so slightly, above let's say. Twenty feet. Not very big, I know, but the ship is detecting a electrical source that is not from the storm. If I had to guess, it was a machine. A generator of some sort. I believe this could be Cain, but then I have this feeling it could be a decoy."

"So, what we have are two areas that could have Cain. What if they are both fakes?"

"There is that possibility, but Fox. It's the only thing we can provide. Both Fara and Fay agree with me on this because well.. Everywhere else, seems just dead. Only thing I can recommend is that you split your teams up and go to these regions. It's the best plan I can provide, Fox. I'm sorry."

"It's fine, Slippy. You did some good work narrowing it down to these locations. How long do we have until an estimated time of departure?"

Slippy typed away at his console, coming up with an answer five seconds later. "If I am correct, we have about two hours and twenty-three minutes. If you leave right now, it'll take you seconds by the teleporters, but with this atmosphere. I don't recommend it. By shuttle, it'll take about five to ten minutes at high velocity. Giving you about two and a quarter hours."

Fox just stared at the screen, contemplating his plan of action. His sigh gave the impression that he was not happy with the short amount of time he had, but it was the closest they've been so far. There was only one course of action. "Alright, Slip. You stay up here, Keep doing scans, but when the time comes. I have a feeling Cain will leave by ship. I want you to move this ship over the Northern Pole and when you see Cain's ship. Try and put him in a tractor beam as soon as possible. We only have one shot because I have a feeling he'll mask his signature when he jumps."

"You can count on me, Fox. I'll do my best."

"You always seem to, even if your best sometimes comes with bad results."

"Don't you start talking like Falco now."

Fox just laughed at his friend, as he patted his shoulder and ran to the turbo lift. "Alright everyone. Get to the hanger bay ASAP. Bring everything you were planning to bring on this mission. Be there in five."

By the time Fox had arrived in the hanger bay, he was shocked to see that everyone had been waiting for him. He smiled as he saw everyone, but that smile vanished when he saw me. Instead, he showed a bit of guilt, but there wasn't any chance that I was going to care.

"Save the guilt later. Let's get going." I called out, getting everyone pumped up about the mission.

"Before you go. There is a catch. We have to split up into two teams. Mainly because of the two locations Slippy, Fara and Fay found. On my team, I want Krystal, Adrian, Miyu, Zeria, Bill and Electra. Ryan will lead team two, Fay, Wolf, Fara , Kid, Matt and Katt will be with him. We'll take the Mercury. You guys take one of those shuttles over there. Should be more than sufficient to get you down and up again."

Everyone on team two looked over at the shuttle, which seemed to be in good condition, but do to its unknown traits to everyone. Would be a bit difficult. Ryan had confidence they would be fine.

"We got a little over two hours and fifteen minutes. Not much time to search around. Let's go!"

Everyone nodded their heads and went to their assigned ships, but something caught Fox's eye at first, before he left. He watched me and Zeria hug and kiss goodbye before we left. "_I'll be fine. You'll get to hold me again soon." _Fox picked up from our conversation with his telepathy. He watched his daughter nod in response, tears slowly filling her eyes, before she found the strength to separate from me and walk to the Mercury.

I looked over at Fox, gave him a nod and ran to the shuttle I was assigned to. I could tell Fox was a bit shocked I wasn't putting up any argument about not being with Zeria. Truth was that I had to be in my most feared state of mind. The state that made me cold and emotionless, and a killer. I didn't want to worry about her, but I know deep down. That will always happen.

"Good luck, kid." Fox mumbled, before he ran and leapt into the Mercury, almost collapsing to the floor, because the moment his body was inside that drop ship, Adrian took off and made a quick exit out of the small hanger bay. "Way to wait for me, Adrian."

Adrian just looked back and saw that Fox had almost fallen to the floor and that got him laughing. He knew Fox would never have been able to predict that. Surprisingly though, he was shocked that Fox hadn't searched his mind for his motives, but Fox never did. Oh well. It made the mission better.

Slippy watched the two ships split off into two directions, the Mercury going left and the shuttle going right. "Natasha?"

"_Name not recognized."_

"Shit. Computer. Put the Enterprise directly over the Northern Pole and stay there until further notice."

"_Command accepted." _Natasha said over the intercom, as Slippy watched the Enterprise already in motion over the pole.

The toad pushed a series of buttons and before he knew it, he was talking to both ships at once. "Alright guys. You have two hours and seventeen minutes. The Enterprise is moving over to the pole as we speak. Good luck."

"_We don't need luck, Toad. We just need time." _That voice came from the elder lupine, kinda agitated that Slippy didn't have faith in their skills, but time was of most importance right now. When time ran out, Cain would be ready to get out of this region. That probably gave them an extra ten minutes maybe. Still nowhere enough. It was all that can be given.

"_Don't mean to Slippy, Wolf. At least he was able to pinpoint two locations for us. Instead of searching the planet and wasting time. He's given us where to go with no time waste."_

"_Fox is right. Thank you, Slippy. You've always been helpful in these situations."_

"Thanks, Krystal. I just try and do my best. It's all I can do."

"_Even though your best got you in trouble sometimes."_

"Shut up, Krystal! Don't you start talking like Falco now!"

Slippy heard everyone over the radio laugh at the comment, but soon. It began to dissipate and the only thing that could be heard was static. The shuttles were entering the atmosphere. Hopefully he be able to hear from them once they pasted.

Slippy just sat at his console, waiting to receive a call-sign from the two ships, as the seconds produced the first minute, nothing was heard from them yet. It didn't really concern the toad yet. He remembered that when they flew in their Arwings, it took them a minute, but these were shuttles. They would take longer.

"_Enterprise is approximately five minutes from reaching destination. Note, a solar-flare storm is occurring at the very northern pole of this planet. Shields will fail in five hours."_

Slippy smiled at that, because they would be gone in no more than three. "Proceed with heading. We will be out of there before the shields fail."

"_Affirmative."_

Slippy glued his vision back at the screen in front of him and saw that there was still no sign of the shuttles. It had been a little over two minutes and still no signs. Slippy started to grow a little worry. What was taking them so long? Was the atmosphere that bad to travel through? Had to have been, they be out by now. They were taking the necessary precautions to avoid the ships being damaged during their travel.

Slippy just drummed his knuckles against the console in front of him, waiting anxiously for some sort of sign that they were fine. It was closing in on three minutes, but a noise caught his attention. A soft beep. Wasn't very loud for some odd reason, but it did catch Slippy's attention. He looked up at the screen, a dot was there. It didn't have a name, but the ship called it Runabout. It was right on target of where it was suppose to be. Slippy smiled, growing bigger a few seconds later when he saw another dot appear. This had a call-sign, Mercury. Again, right where it was suppose to be. "You guys okay?"

There was long amount of static, before it finally started to clear up and a voice came over the com. It was Adrian. "_Holy shit, toad. That was the roughest ride I ever had to deal with. Good thing you didn't come with us. Whoo-we." _

"_I think it was a bad idea for the kid to come with us. He looks like he gets motion sickness bad." _

"_Fuck you, O'Donnell!….Oh shit. Give me a bag."_

"_Kid just ran out of here like a bat outta hell. This was a rough ride. At least he made it the rough part. Only smooth sailing from here, according to Ryan."_

"_I'm leaking fuel. I think the Mercury got struck by lightning of something."_

"_Could save your ass Adrian for the rough ride."_

"_Screw you, Fox. I fly the best out of anyone here."_

"I hate to break up your conversation guys, but you are closing in on your targets. I recommend radio silence from here on out. Just in case."

"_Slippy is right. Turn off your radios until time runs out or if you complete your mission." _Fox commanded over the radio, not expecting to hear any responses. He expected right, immediately, the radios went dead and there was no more sound. "Good luck."

The Mercury flew through the skies, doing its best to fly with a fuel leaking ship, to stall the process. He shut off that engine, now only flying with three instead of four. The handling went away big time, but he still managed to come across his target. It had to have been the creepiest mountain he had ever seen. Had to have stood over thirty-six thousand feet. The computers on the ship clarified saying that this mountain was taller. Over forty-two in fact. Looked to have several spires sticking out of the mountain, making it looked like a spiked club.

Just like Peppy said, when he mentioned that there was no light on the surface, he was right. It was just above pitch black, with the lightning making it day for only a second. The storm made this a bitch to fly around. Adrian did not like flying with these conditions, but there was no turning back. You could only move forward.

Thanks to the infrared screen that came over the windscreen of the Mercury, Adrian at least had some idea of where to go. Though the rain made it almost impossible to see anything at all. Even with the wiper moving back and forth at a high rate of speed, made no difference. It was just one of those types of storms that were hard to see anything when you were standing still, impossible to see at all the faster you went.

"I hope you don't kill us, Adrian. I'm not ready to die just yet." Bill yelled from the back of the drop ship, doing his best to not look out the window. It was bad enough to ride in it, but looking out and feeling what was happening around you made it unbearable.

"Fuck you, Grey. I like to see you do better."

"I haven't flown anything in years and the only thing that I have flown was the Bloodhound and I didn't even fly that. I commanded her. Big difference."

"You still commanded her and flew her in a way, Bill."

"Alright, let me clarify. I haven't flown anything that could maneuver like an Arwing in years. Better?"

"Much. Now sit there and shut up. Let me do the flying."

"How are you feeling back there, kid?"

"Shut up! I'm fine."

"I don't you're fine. Who throws up on a soft ride like the one we just had?"

"Matt? Don't make me kill you…I'm hungry."

"Kid makes a point. I could go for a nice steak or something meaty right now." Wolf commented, his mouth watering at the thought of something like a burger or something juicy.

"Honey? You are always hungry for meat. And I don't mean that kind of meat either."

"Fara? Just…just don't please."

"Geez, kid. I thought for sure you would think about the dirty stuff our wives do. You do think they good looking right?"

"Of course I do. I just don't want to imagine what they do with their ugly ass husbands."

This actually got the women laughing, while their husbands just glared at me. Well, at least I didn't get a glare from Ryan because he had to watch where he was going, but I knew I could feel the hatred building in him.

Though, his hatred vanished when he saw the landmark that was approaching him. It was a mountain, not as tall as the one that team one was heading for, but there was something unusual about it. Looked like it was hiding something underneath. He even noticed that smoke coming out some holes of the peak.

"I don't know how, but I am seeing smoke from that peak ahead of us. This ship must be doing one helluva job to try and minimize the rain hitting the hull. I can see like it were a normal shower outside."

"That's great, Cooper, but why would there be smoke coming out of that peak? It doesn't appear to be a volcano or anything."

Wolf had made a good point, as the shuttle quickly approached the mountain ahead of them, something was off on why this planet was releasing smoke. Didn't make sense to anything.

"Maybe it's a factory or something?" Matt quickly came up with the guess, which would seem to make sense. Make it seem like this was a dormant mountain, just waiting to blow. In the mean time, it just releases smoke through vents, which were actually smoke stacks. It made sense to everyone.

"Push it, Cooper. We are getting close to two hours exact. About five minutes away."

"At our speed right now, one minute from landing. Buckle in." Everyone ran to the nearest chair and held on. No one really flew with Ryan before so they were expecting a crash landing. Or at the very least, the shuttle would slide and skip across the landing pad and slide into the mountain.

"Five bucks says he hit's the mountain."

"I say ten that he'll surprisingly make a landing, hard, but he won't hit the mountain." I gambled against Wolf, to my surprise, Fara and Katt gambled along with me. Matt and Fay seemed to be undecided. "I bet with Wolf." Okay, only Fay was undecided.

"Babe? You're not going to bet saying that I'm going to crash now are you?"

"Of course not, sexy. Ten says he lands, but breaks something." "WHAT?"

"You're on!" Everyone called out, putting in ten bucks each. Making a pot of sixty bucks, which sat in the middle of the table just outside the cockpit. Ryan just grumbled to himself, couldn't believe everyone had no faith in him.

The minute ticked away to only down to twenty seconds and the way Ryan was flying, Wolf and Matt were going to win the pot. When it came down to fifteen seconds, he began to reduce the throttle and the ship lost power significantly. Just like he was planning.

He pulled up the nose to try and cause air friction to slow the shuttle down, which seemed to help a lot, but as the pad approached, it looked like Ryan wasn't going to be able to stop this thing. His last method of attack was to fire the reverse thrusters and that would bring the forward momentum to a halt. Then he would slowly lower the ship onto the pad.

Everything was going according to plan for him, but when he pulled back the nose, the ship lowered due to its loss of speed. Everyone no longer cared about the bet, they just cared about that they would make this landing alive. Things weren't going too well.

Ryan did his best to try and even the ship, but the moment he did, it leveled immediately. He hit the pad and was now sliding and skipping across the tarmac. He fired the reverse thrusters and tried to stop the skipping. As the side of the mountain approached, all things slowed down. Actually, it came to a sudden halt. Ryan launched a grappling hook. It reached its limit and that stopped the shuttle then and there. How it didn't break, who knows? Tough metal. Either way, the shuttle was on the ground.

"Piece of cake."

"Thank you, Ryan. Because of your lack of flying skills, you just made me a very rich man." I commented, as I split the money evenly with Fara and Katt.

"Wait! Give me a sec!" Fay called, doing a diagnostic of the ship, seeing if there was any damage done to the shuttle. Ryan just glared at his wife, as she went through the list. To her disappointment though, her ears drooped that she had lost the bet. "Figures."

"You all suck. I'm sick and tired of your lack of faith!" Ryan complained, as he got out of his chair and headed for the armory. Fay got up and followed him.

"Let's go, guys. Let's grab our guns."

"Already got mine, Wolf." I said, picking up my black duffel bag, containing my Taurus and SAW. Wolf just nodded, then continued his journey to the armory, with Fara's arm locked with his.

One thing I had noticed the moment I came aboard this ship, well when I first met everyone on the Matchitehew. Their love for each other. Something you don't really see very often. Most married couples I saw, it was all nothing, but arguing. Leading to divorce and basically. The rest of their lives are ruined. IN most cases however, it's the men that suffer. The women are off living the life because they won the divorce case. I don't know how to explain it, but seeing Wolf holding Fara's arm. It made me realize how happy I was when I had a family of my own. My parents just loved each other, and they loved me with every fiber of their being. They always told me I was a blast to be with because I had a funny personality, which made being in public with me made it more enjoyable for them. It was because they got to show off at the great son they had. I seriously doubt though that they think I'm great right now. It's been hell for me these past thirteen years. My life took a serious turn for the worst, but I guess the only thing I was able to do for them was to live. May not be a good way of living, but here I am. I'm still continuing to live. I just hope I get to see them again one day. I wiped a tear from my eye and jogged quickly to catch up with the others.

The loading ramp lowered and team one stepped onto the ramp, for the first time taking a look with their own eyes, without having to look through a window. It was absolutely a desolate place. The black mountains that only lit up from the constant lightning strikes above and they knew the moment they walk out from underneath the ship. Three seconds later, they will be drenched. The rain was unbearably hard.

"I kinda like this place. Reminds me of Krazoa Palace in a sense. High platform. Heavy rain beyond belief. It is absolutely creepy out here, but I just love how it reminds me of Krazoa."

"I think you are a little homesick, Fox. It is nice to not be a damsel in distress. Don't tell Matt I said that. He still makes fun of me for helping me that day on the streets."

"I'm gonna have to for shits and giggles, you know that right?"

"Fox? You say a thing, I'll kill you."

Fox just sighed with frustration as he started to walk out from underneath the ship. Immediately, his clothes and fur were soaked to the bone in a matter of seconds, but that was a risk. "Perhaps I shouldn't have worn my new coat. What you guys think?"

"McCloud? You're an idiot."

"Thanks for the support Adrian. You are a real pleasure to be around."

"That's my job."

"You are a real socialist, you know that sweetie?"

"I know, babe. That's why you married me."

"I thought I married you because of your good looks?"

"That too." The arctic wolf said, as he walked out into the rain as well, Miyu not too far behind him.

This was just not a good place anyone would want to visit right now. Surprisingly though, no one was complaining about the rain. It was kinda bittersweet to them because they felt victory was near, but they knew it wouldn't be on this planet. They just had this feeling that they wouldn't find Cain in time.

The team made their way across the tarmac landing platform, about fifty feet across, making the walk over there a bit long when it came to walking in the rain, but since they were drenched in a matter of seconds. No one picked up their pace, just casually walked over to the door.

"So how do we open this? Looks like we need a code or something." Katt commented, brushing her pink locks out of her eyes as she looked upon a small pad next to the door.

"Can't call Slippy. He told us to maintain radio silence. Knowing him, he would be able to hack this thing in a matter of seconds. Hmm. And we don't have either Fara or Fay here with us. Bill? You think you might be able to crack this bitch?"

Bill stepped forward and stared at the pad very carefully. As if he were trying to figure out its anatomy. He must've stared at it for three minutes straight, trying to figure out how it could be open. Finally, something clicked in his mind as he reached forward and used his claw to dig into the pad. To everyone's shock, he pulled up the pad. It was only a cover to the real thing and all it was, was a button.

Fox just stared wide-eyed at the pad and Bill, as he pushed the button and a loud hiss was heard from when the door slid upwards. Bill just cracked a smile and dusted off his shoulders. Reaching for Electra's hand and the two walked together through the open door. "Yeah, enjoy the moment you cocky bastard." Fox mumbled, as he walked behind the couple. Krystal right behind him, a giggling smile on her face.

It was mildly lit, bright enough to see where you were going, but it was still rather dark in a sense. Guess these people didn't believe in lights. Or at least didn't care for them. The door slid closed once everyone had past through the doorframe, startling a couple people in the process. They hadn't expected the door to close that fast.

"I'm already liking this place." Bill said, pulling his plasma rifle from behind the holster strapped to his back. Pushing a button just ahead of the trigger, arming the weapon as it glowed a sapphirish color.

"Stay on your toes everyone. Watch where you step and check everyone corner. I don't know if we got surprise, but I have a feeling we don't. You sense anything, Krys?"

Krystal shot a quick glance at her husband, before she closed her eyes and concentrated her mind. Though a few seconds later, her eyes reopened and she sighed with frustration. "There's a lot of interference within this mountain. It's gonna take a lot of my strength to get through it."

"Here. Hold my hand and I'll lend you my strength." Fox said, gently grasping onto his wife's hand. He could feel her fingers squeeze around his hand and he watched her start searching. He did what he could to pass his strength to her, but this was a first time they had done this. It proved a little difficult for the inexperienced telepath. However, he finally found what needed to be done and he watched a small white glow forming around their met hands.

He looked up to see that his wife was now within a deep trance. Completely unaware of what was happening to her, everyone just stared at her within her deep stasis. Her eyes were opened slightly, but you could not see any pupils. It looked like her eyes were turned into the back of her head and had glazed over. It looked as though she was starting to feel pain and Fox had to try and free her from her stasis. His attempts were futile, but she returned to normal a few seconds later.

"They don't know we are here surprisingly. I thought for sure we have been found and they be on their way right now."

Fox just sighed with relief as he saw his wife return to normal. Only gesture he could do was hug her tightly, in which threw her off from the sudden affection. "Foxie? What's wrong?"

"You looked like you were in pain when you were searching. I was worried."

"You always were." She said, gently kissing his ear, which caused the male vulpine's ear to flicker from being tickled.

"You know I hate it when you tickle my ear with your whiskers."

"I know."

"Alright, lovebirds. Let's get a move on. I bet Ryan and the others have already found them."

"But wait. Didn't you say they haven't found us? Wouldn't that make them here and not where the other's are?" Zeria asked, bringing up a valid point which got everyone thinking.

"You don't think that the others are heading for a trap, are they?" Miyu asked, really starting to get everyone worried about the other team. Fox just looked at everyone's facial expressions. A look of worry that Fox never liked to see.

"I could try and contact them, but we would break silence and I bet Cain and his men would find it. Son of a bitch. This isn't good." Fox pondered at the situation that they now faced, but there was only one option. His mind was artificial, but stronger than Krystal's. "I'll be right back."

"Where are you going?"

"Make a phone call."

Every one of us now stood within the stronghold of the mountain, examining everything that was around us. It kinda reminded you of like an old Egyptian tomb, but very well lit. My only wonder was where were the lights to brighten up this place. Damn peculiar.

Wolf led the way, his shot-rifle armed and ready to fire in case of a sudden attack. By the looks of things though, it was dead silent and looked completely empty. Only thing that bothered us was the strange lights that brightened up the place.

"_Guys? You there?" _Everyone stopped and started to look around for where that voice could have come from. I was tempted to start firing my SAW, but Wolf just lowered my weapon with his hand and shook his head at me. "It's Fox. _Yeah, pup. What's up?"_

"_Wolf? Good to hear from you. You guys okay?"_

"_Of course. Who do you think is leading this crazy bunch of amateurs?"_

"_Yeah yeah, but listen I have a feeling where you are may be a trap. The decoy place that Slippy said. I would say get your asses over here, but I bet there is still some info over on your end that you might be able to retrieve."_

"_Makes sense. We'll keep a lookout, but if this trip turns out to be a dud. I'm killing the kid for leading us over here."_

"_I think Krystal might kill you if you do that." _

"_Damn right I will. Don't hurt Jeff, O'Donnell. Those were Krystal's words, Wolf. Not mine."_

"_Terrific. Alright. Tell her I won't hurt the kid, but I won't be happy about it."_

"…_She says she doesn't care if your happy or not. Just do what she says."_

"_Alright. Good luck."_

"_Yep." _With that, Wolf felt Fox leave his mind and the only thoughts he was able to hear was his own. Occasionally, he doesn't mind when he or Krystal would get in his mind, but if it happened often, like when Marcus or Penelope do it non stop. It can get a bit annoying, but as the years went on. He learned to keep his cool.

"Alright. Keep an extra eye open and scan your every surrounding. Fox thinks this could be the decoy location. Make sure your weapons are ready to fire the moment you squeeze that trigger. Hopefully we don't have to, but if you are like me. You are trigger happy. Kid, you seem trigger happy."

"I can be." I said, lifting the top of my rifle, making sure the round was in the chamber properly. I pushed the first bullet gently and I smiled when I knew the gun was ready to fire. I shut the top and nodded at the elder wolf.

"Alright. I think we should stick together. Fara and I will take lead, but I want the kid right behind us because he's got the automatic. If we get into a large chamber, cover me and Matt until we are secure because we got the sniper rifles. Hopefully we don't run into resistance. I just want to get off this planet. Questions?"

"Hey hey hey. I got a question." Ryan called out while raising his hand, getting a confused glare from Wolf.

"What?" He responded, feeling regret for not just telling him to shut up. This was Ryan we were talking about here. Never took things seriously. Always made it a joke.

"Why can't I lead? I'm fully capable of running the show around here. Why don't you let me take lead?"

"Because you are the biggest pussy out of all of us here. First sign of trouble, you will flee like the girl you are. Now get behind the kid and shut up!" Wolf said, almost on the verge of yelling at the shorter husky, as he slowly backed away from the slowly approaching wolf.

"I got to go to the bathroom." Ryan mumbled, but Wolf's keen ears heard him.

'Please let me kill him. Please! That's all I ask for." Wolf said, walking towards Cooper, but Fara and I got in his way and pushed him back.

"Not now, sweetie. You can do it later. Now is not the time to be killing each other. Especially Ryan."

"Kinda want to kill the kid too."

"Everyone wants to kill me, but I always tell them save it for a later time. Come on, big man. Let's get in the game and get what we came here for." I said to him, trying to perk up his spirits.

"Get revenge?"

"For Peppy? Sure. Go ahead, I'm doing this for Sam"

"Alright. Let's go." Wolf said, turning around and started walking down the corridor with Fara not too far behind. I just leaned closer to Cooper and began to whisper something in his ear.

"You owe me." I then jogged down the hall to catch up with the couple. Ryan, Fay, Matt and Katt followed not too far behind me.

We made our way down the corridor, wondering why it has yet to turn in any direction at all. It's just been a straight tunnel for like the past three hundred meters. Plus there was no where for us to hide if we got ambushed. This was a bad situation and no one was feeling good about this.

Wolf just took a knee and pulled out his rifle, zooming as far as he could to see how long this tunnel kept going and if he had to guess. Looked to go about another five hundred meters before the room opened up. A large chamber to be exact. Just like what Wolf said and he didn't like that.

"Fuck me. Come on. Pick up the pace and roll your feet. Let's get out of this tunnel fast, but do it as quiet as possible. Let's go." Wolf ordered, as he took off down the corridor with the utmost speed I have ever seen from a man his age. He had to have been in his mid to late forties. Maybe even in his fifties and he ran like a twenty-five year old, well-trained Cornerian ranger.

Everyone took off after him, doing exactly what he told us to do and in my opinion. There is only one way to run and roll your feet at the same time and that's lift off with your toe and land on the opposite. Your heal never hit's the ground. Seemed to work because I didn't really hear a damn thing except for the slightest puffs of air we took in.

We slid to a halt just before we entered the chamber, scanning everything around us. Wolf used his optical implant and used it to find any heat signatures that could be lurking behind anything. He sighed in distress. "Nothing. I don't see a damn thing. This isn't right at all."

I just looked at the older wolf, as I just walked out into the chamber with no fear of getting shot. I just held up my rifle and looked in all directions in search of any type of movement. Only movement I saw was machinery. Nothing more. Without saying a word, I just gave a sluggish thumbs up, telling them it looks clear, but keep on your toes.

Everyone moved out from the corridor and into the large chamber, giving everyone a chance to look around and stare at all the machines that seemed to be working overtime. "What do you suppose these machines are for?" Katt pondered, as she leaned over to her husband.

"Not a clue. Maybe this is a secret operations factory that Cain has going. Seems a bit overdone for just drugs though."

"This isn't just for drugs. It's way too overdone for that." Ryan asked, walking up to a conveyer belt that looked to be producing some sort of white powder. "This one however is. Look at all the cocaine this machine is making."

"That's not cocaine. That's heroin. This machine next to me is making the liquid form of a Methamphetamine. That cooker thing a little bit past me crystallizes it. That's what he sells on the streets. Crystal Meth. You have no idea how often I saw that and how I watched it ruin people's lives."

"You seem to know a lot about this stuff, kid. Have you ever tried any of it?"

"Nothing too serious. But yes I have. I told you this. Where were you in the hanger bay?"

"Oh yeah." Wolf responded back, as he kinda shook his head at me before he turned away and spotted a door on the far side of the chamber. "Hey! Look over there." He pointed, running over there with everyone on his tail.

It was not that far of a run because we arrived about fifteen seconds later and came to a stop in front of it. Steel. Didn't look that hard to open because all it had was a doorknob. With everyone precaution, Wolf slowly opened the door, only to hear nothing but rain from the outside world. This confused us.

He opened the door and stood in the doorframe, wondering how we had already went through the entire mountain, but what we saw made us lose that thought. It was a concrete path. Though, it connected to this pinnacle tower that stood in what seemed like a bottomless ravine. The pinnacle was half a mile away.

"Holy fuck. I don't like this at all." Matt called out, pulling up his rifle and seeing what was on the other end of the bridge. It was too dark for just normal sights so he had to enhance its vision. Everything glowed green and all he saw was a door. "There's a door at the end of this bridge. I don't know what's behind it."

"Double time" Wolf ordered, as he took off into a dead sprint and quickly got up to his max speed. Everyone followed closely behind, with me slowly being able to catch up with the old wolf.

Wolf turned and saw me and did his best to put extra strength into his running. He was challenging me to a running contest and I wasn't about to ease up because he was my elder. Not a chance.

Both of us put away our guns and focused completely on running with all our might. I thought I was fast, but it was amazing that Wolf was able to keep up with me. Then out of nowhere, I turned my head the other way and saw Fara running parallel with us.

I looked back and forth between the two and saw that we could have been getting close to a quarter mile very shortly. I had one secret weapon that I only used when absolutely necessary. Consider it a final gear. When people think I was running the fastest I could, I surprise them when I manage to shift into another gear and I mange to pull ahead, but it was only for a short burst before I tired myself out. I had to wait until that moment came.

"You are not beating me, kid! I'll push you over the edge if I have to!"

I looked forward and saw that we were closing to about the final one thousand feet and this is when I just turned and smiled at the older wolf. "I like to see you catch me!" I taunted, as I changed my running style completely and I managed to start pulling away from Wolf and Fara.

The two of them stared wide-eye at the fact that I was able to slowly pull away from them. About a good foot I was in the lead now and still increasing my distance between the two, but then I felt that I was running for too long. My legs were starting to cramp up and just when I was about to stop on my own. My feet fell from underneath me and I feel face forward and landed on my shoulder and slid to a halt.

Wolf and Fara ran past me and slid to a stop just before the door and turned around to see me on the ground. "Oh shit. He broke his shoulder." He told Fara, as she ran back to me and knelt down beside me.

"Oh my god. Jeff, you okay?"

"Yeah. Why?" I said, as I raised my head to look at her, then slowly getting up of the wet ground and sat for a moment before I stood up.

"We thought for sure you broke your shoulder."

"Nah. I've done this before. I'm all bone and these bones are like rocks. Well…." I said, looking down and put a hand on my chest, rubbing it gently. "Almost."

Wolf and Fara looked at my chest and saw my fingers moving inward towards my chest. "That from Fox's fist?"

"Yep. Doesn't hurt…..a lot. I'll live. Come on. Let's see what's in there." I said, shaking myself off and walked past them, just as everyone else caught up with us.

"You fast ass bastards. Why don't you wait up for us?"

"Not our fault you are too slow, Cooper. Now shut up and come on." Wolf ordered, as he approached the closed door that got everyone's attention the moment they saw it. This entire structure before them was strange. It was a pinnacle. A rock tower that stood about an incomprehensible distance from the non-existent ground below.

"Will you be able to look inside there, Wolf?" I asked him, pulling my rifle out of its holster and held it close to me.

"If you are thinking that I have some sort of vision that I can see through walls, I don't. Required extra money and I didn't think I would be doing anything outside a Wolfen so I didn't bother."

"We just have to walk in and pray that no one is inside. If there is, weapons ready." Fara said, as she pulled out his dual Caliper Blasters she had bought the day she left Star Fox. They were in their prime back when she bought them, but now they had aged a bit. She claims they haven't lost any of their luster, but everyone else on the team wasn't so sure.

"Alright. How do we open this?" Ryan asked, walking up to the door and didn't see any signs of an opening device. Maybe it was password encrypted or it recognized you as you approached the door and it opened automatically. We prayed for neither.

Fay just scanned the door, looking at every bit of detail it had to offer her. It looked just like a metal door. Maybe made of steel or something. It was then that something caught her attention. One of the panels was built differently from the others. She stepped forward and placed her hand upon it, feeling the cold metal through her wet fur. She put pressure on it, but it didn't give. She then turned it in all directions, it moved slightly to the right. No response though. Then she felt the door slide upwards and that made the door glow gold. The door slowly broke apart and disappeared into the door frame.

"How the fuck did you know how to open that?" Wolf asked, with complete anger and shock. Shock because she knew and he didn't. Anger because he didn't figure it out and she did. Wait, those are the same reasons.

"I'm the smartest one here. Plus I'm shocked you didn't see that that panel was built differently from the others. Shame on you."

"Cooper? Your wife is queer."

Ryan paused for a moment, mainly because Fay quickly turned to stare at her husband. Though, a few seconds later. Ryan just let out, "I know." In which Fay punched him in the arm.

"I'm glad you said this out loud because if someone was in this office. We be dead right now. So thank everyone for losing your focus on the door when it opened." I said sarcastically, as I walked inside and taking in all the surroundings of this very surprisingly well furnished. It had to have been about fifty feet across in a perfect circle or circumference.

When I finished looking around the very nice office, the first thing my eyes laid upon was the desk on the opposite side of the room. A very nice dark wooden desk that had to be about five and a half feet long and four feet high. A very nice desk.

I began to rummage through all the drawers, scanning every sheet of paper that came across me. Seemed like ordinary business papers or even tax information, but it all seemed counterfeit.

"You find anything kid?"

"No. Not yet, Wolf. Too many papers."

"Hey Matt. Give the kid a hand. Some answers may be in that desk. I'll check out this filing cabinet." Wolf said, walking over to a six foot tall, silver cabinet. Just one knock and it sounded like it was loaded with papers.

Matt walked over to me and started rummaging through the other side of the desk. However, luck may have been on his side because the moment he pulled out a drawer, he saw a little red button just barely noticeable from the right angle.

"Fucking, fortunate bastard." I mumbled so only he could hear it, as I leaned over and pressed the button. The moment the button was pressed, a small screen started to unfold from the desk.

The soft hum caught everyone's attention as they made their way over to behind the desk. By the time everyone made it over, the desk was fully raised and began to show signs of life. A few seconds later, security camera images began to appear, but there were only two videos. One was a group of men forming together in this hanger bay by they looks of it. The other video was…..oh no.

Wolf quickly pulled out his cell phone. Knowing full well this would break radio silence. He didn't care. He had to warn Fox and the others. They were heading right for a trap. He quickly dialed his number, but he couldn't get a signal. He quickly ran out of the office and into the rain. Immediately redialing the number. Still no signal. "SHIT!" Wolf yelled, not even a full second later. A plasma round flew right over his head. "SHIT!"

The lupine quickly retreated into the office and slammed it closed. Not knowing how to lock it or even if it locked buy itself. He just prayed that it would lock itself and once that happened. He try to find a way to keep it that way.

"If you are thinking what you are already think, Wolfy. The doors cannot be opened from the outside now." Fara said, as she finished typing away on the computer in front of her and smiled at her work.

"That's why I love you." He told her, as he received a kiss that she had blown to him with a very seductive wink. As much as he would love to get romantic with her, he had a huge problem. Cain's men were outside those doors, and right now. They were in a losing situation.

"Peppy…Help us."

**Alright! What did you think? Any good? I hope so. It's my goal to produce good chapters for you lovely readers. Thank you. Update soon.**


	7. Author Note

**Hey everyone. Krieger Aurelius here to give you some news. One: I am sorry for not updating lately. I just haven't had enough time to write. It's not a writer's block. Everyone has been using my computer lately and I don't have time to write. I promise I will be updating all three stories soon. They are of the following: Star Fox: Fear Styx Omega, Pokemon: Chance of a Life Time, Star Fox: S.W.A.T. **

**Two: I have been thinking of two projects and I need your help on which should come first. They are both Star Fox, but one is the prequel to The Rise of Styx Omega. The other is a sequel to Fear Styx Omega and I need your help on which should be written first. So, what I ask of you is this. Comment this chapter and give me your opinion. It would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.**


	8. Chapter 7

**Hey everyone! Finally, a new chapter has been posted and I feel pretty good about this chapter. This chapter however is going to be rated M for some explicit romance. If you catch my drift. I'm happy with the results and I hope you enjoy this as well. **

**On a different note: as for the sequel vs. prequel thing. I think it would be best if i explained to you what each story is about. Here they are.**

**PREQUEL: The story starts during Star Fox: Adventures, but the thing is that this will not follow the game at all. It will be my own idea, like what coudl've happened if the game was done differently. This may be my own idea, bit of course is not my game and i do not own Star Fox. Just this idea. That's my disclaimer. Anyway, once the mission is done, the story will continue until Fox's near death experience and his slow transformation until he finally becomes Krieger Aurelius. I am thinking the story will be called Star Fox: Before Styx Omega.**

**SEQUEL: This story takes place sixteen plus years after Fear Styx Omega, as you may have guessed. This will be focused on the offspring of Fox and company. Go to my profile to remember the names. Anyhow, they are forced to go into hiding after they are abandoned by their family for their protection, but there is one man who wants this entire family to suffer. So he hunts for the kids as well. the kids must defend and protect themselves and each other. Plus, they want to know what happened to their family. Possible title, Star Fox: The Hunt for Styx Omega. **

**Alright, there you have it. The two stories i am considering and I need your opinion. Again, i am asking you for your opinion so when you write you review for this chapter. Write down which should be done first. Thank you to all my loyal fans. You guys and girls are the best. It's your words of kindness is what keeps me writing. It's what keeps me trying to better my style so it is much easier to read and enjoy. Thank you, all of you. Now, without interruptions. Chapter 7 of Fear Styx Omega is ready to be read. **

Everyone watched as the door that separated themselves from the people who were trying to kill them, slowly start to give from the stress being caused by the plasma fire. The heat and force being caused started to make the door give and bend. Wolf guessed they only had about maybe five minutes the most before that door would explode and they would be forced to fight whoever is out there. Times weren't looking good for this team.

"Only thing we can do is open fire upon them when that door breaks. Two can stay on opposite sides of the door, while the others will just take cover and kill whoever they see trying to come in."

"That's the thing, Matt. Everything in here is made of wood. There isn't any cover at all. Those plasma rifles will shred anything it touches. The only success we have is we line up one by one, when it comes time to reload. We let the next person step forward and shoot."

"It's the only option we have, Wolf. Though, I say and I know this is very risky, but why don't you and Matt kneel behind that desk. You both have the sniper rifles. You can pick off guys while the rest of us do what you suggested. I know. Dumb plan, but we are just sticking our guns out and shooting. Both of you actually get to aim and shoot."

"How many rounds do you have for your rifle, Matt?" Wolf said, as he pulled out his current cylinder-shaped cartridge from his rifle. A fifteen round cylinder, fifteen were left. Then he searched his backpack for his remaining ammo. He had seven cylinders left.

"I got a full magazine in right now. Plus an additional eight mags. That's a total of seventy rounds. What about you?" Matt answered as he inserted the magazine for his custom Dragunov Sniper Rifle. "I got eight full cylinders. Fifteen rounds each. Do the math, I'm not good at it. That's more than you have though."

"That's affirm. Alright. For you guys. What you think? I say the kid should go first because he's able to fire the most before reloading. What? One hundred rounds?"

"Two."

"Alright. Kid will be on one side. Umm. I'm gonna have to go with Ryan on the other. You're carrying an SMG there. Dual to be exact. You can switch when one needs a reload. Burst though. Both of you. Save ammo and keep them accurate."

"We'll do our best. You guys need anything to help block the desk?"

"There's nothing that will stop those rounds. Just try and prevent them from firing and we'll keep moving around. Alright. We wasted three minute already and that door is about to blow. Get into positions."

Everyone on Wolf's command went into there assigned locations. I stood on the left side of the door, with Ryan directly across from me. I watched him do a quick scan of his weapons, seeing that he didn't fire once so far. He had two full magazines for his MP5s. Then, I watched as I saw Fay, Katt stand behind him respectably.

I opened the top of my SAW and was satisfied that everything was set with my gun. Even though I had just checked it a few moments ago. Then watched Fara stand behind me. Readying her Plasma Machine Gun. Filled with fifty round cells.

I nodded at her, for which she patted my shoulder and wished me good luck. I just looked ahead and shook the husky's hand. "Good luck, Jeff."

I just smiled at him, for the good luck, but for the fact that he called me by my name and not by 'kid'. "You too."

Fox occasionally stood up, just enough time for him to raise his revolver and take a quick shot or two before he ducked down once again before any shots would hit him. He was missing enough fur as is. He didn't want to lose anymore. Anyway, so far. He probably fired a total of six rounds with his weapon, not once missing a shot, but they weren't always at their head. Four of them actually, he hit their shoulder and cause them to retreat in pain until they were ready to fight again.

Next to him was Krystal, holding her prized Gatling Gun; which she's had since she first came aboard the Great Fox before the Aparoid Invasion. Over the years of course, she's customized it so it would fire more impacted shells and more accurate as well. It has its battle scars with burn marks across its many chambers, along with a little rust near the rotating mechanism. It still fired like the day she picked it up however.

She was in a crouched position and a little ways from Fox actually, behind a stack of barrels that were protecting her pretty well. Though, this wasn't a good position for her because of the size of the weapon she had to carry. There were times just take the initiative approach and fire at something explosive. At least she was doing damaged one way or another.

About fifteen feet away was Zeria, all by herself, with only her Glock 18 pistol for support. She stood behind a beam which seemed to have been absorbing most of the rounds that were being fired at her. Occasionally, she would stick her head and arm out and fire. Being trained by Fox himself, her shooting was very impressive. Fox looked up the same time he saw her pick someone off about one hundred yards away and the bullet went right through the guy's head. Made him smile to see that. She had been hit though, a round grazed her leg. By the looks of it from Fox's optic, she'll be fine. The heat from the plasma cauterized the wound.

Adrian and Miyu were off in a corner somewhere, but Adrian had the funniest job of all. For reasons no one knew how. He had stashed away a fly-by-wire rocket launcher. He would aim it off to the further wall away from him and steer it to a bunch of targets. Plus everything that was caught in a fifty foot radius, was engulfed in a napalm. He called the gun…Pea?

Miyu was right behind him, loading the rockets into the tube, while when she didn't need to load. She would fire her M4 Carbine with a Grenadier. So she helped out in the explosive department.

Bill and Electra were using their military skills to be as stealth as possible and planting explosive, remote mines underneath every target that was against Styx Omega. Thanks to both of them having such dark fur and skin, they were able to creep through the shadows undetected.

"_Bill? How's it coming?"_

"_It's going good, Fox. We are about forty percent there. Should have these things ready to detonate in no more than five minutes."_

"_Alright. When you get those things ready, get the fuck out of there because don't think I won't blow this up with you still around."_

"_Ha ha ha. Nice joke, Fox. You are a real riot."_

Fox smirked at the comment, though he didn't stay that way for very long. You wouldn't smile long either if a bullet whizzes past your head. He got back into Krieger Mode and aimed carefully, but fast. Squeezing the trigger and watching the bullet fly straight and true. Right through a echidna's lung. Almost immediately, he started to choke on his blood.

"How many more rounds do you have in that thing, Krystal?" Fox said to his wife, as she started to burst her weapon. Her sign saying that she was running low on ammo.

"I'm less than one hundred rounds. I need a new cell, but I dropped one at the entrance of this chamber. Right in the middle of the open. I'm not running to get it. I would if I had my staff."

"Well, we are all out of Cerinian staffs, little lady. So looks to me I'm gonna have to run and grab it. Thought for sure I wouldn't lose any fur today. Guess I was wrong. Just fire and try and get them to duck. That's when I'll make a break for it." Fox said, holstering his revolver and getting ready to sprint the distance between him and his wife's bag. Fifty feet.

"Love you." Was all she said, before she held the trigger down and aimed at everyone that was firing. Immediately, the plan started to work as Cain's men took cover from the fast moving barrage of plasma bullets.

Fox used this opportunity to use his quick sprinting speeds to run the short distance in his opinion. Back when he was a teenager and a little bit older, he had been able to run one hundred meters in very low nines. So running fifty feet and back in like lightning for anyone. His feet barely made a sound as he dashed over the metal floor, quickly sliding to a halt and took off running again at the same pace as before. Fox cursed to himself when someone managed to get a lucky shot and a plasma round struck Fox's right ankle. Causing him to collapse and roll behind his cover from before.

"Shit! Fucking, mother-fucking bitch! That fucking hurts!" Fox yelled and cursed, pulling off his boot and seeing plasma eat away his skin and fur. He quickly grabbed a bottled water from Krystal's bag and washed the plasma away from his ankle. Trying his best to soothe the burning, but it remained. "I'm not gonna live much longer if I keep losing skin. I may be metal, but I need a certain amount of skin to live. I need to retire if I want to live."

"I would love it if you retired, but I really do need a cell right now, sexy." Krystal said, asking for a cell from her bag. Fox just looked up to meet her eyes with his and nodded. Pulling out a cell and sliding it across the floor, stopping next to her body. "Thanks, baby."

"_Mines set! Electra and I are on our way! Give us one minute."_

"Krystal! Bill and Electra are ready. Get ready to take cover." Fox said, pulling out his revolver and continued to fire to stall the enemy from proceeding. The way it was now, if it remained like this. Everyone that worked for Cain would be dead in less than fifty seconds. All who remained? Styx Omega.

Krystal turned to try and find the couple that were retreating, but it was hard to do. The shadow they were in was absolutely pitch black. She just hoped they would hurry. She didn't think those enemy would sit still for much longer. She did her best to keep them right where they are. Keeping them low, shooting to the side of them, cause them to strafe closer to the mines.

Fox had the lock on the couple the whole time, just enhancing the vision of his optical, he was able to pinpoint where exactly where they were. Plus, he was able to find exactly where the Greys placed those mines. A total of forty if he was counting correctly. On every support beam that was supporting the upper level in which Cain's men were on, and other spots to help to do demolishing.

"NOW!" Bill yelled at the top of his lungs, diving from the shadows and rolled behind a stack of crates, which immediately began to shred to pieces. Both Greys just kept rolling, miraculously evading the bullets, which tore apart the ground all around them.

Fox just watched the couple roll behind a beam, somehow getting through all that without a scratch. He had to laugh at that little show, before he pulled out the detonator, looking almost like a pen. Probably because it was a pen. This wasn't a simple push and blow. No. Fox had to aim a laser at one of the mines and it would send off a chain reaction. Setting all of them off. Fox had this responsibility because no one had his aim like he did.

He held up the pen detonator and carefully aimed it at the furthest, but most centered mine of the forty that laid in front of him. He watched the red infrared laser shoot across the room, inching its way towards his targeted mine. All he had to do was make sure that the laser came in contact with one. No specific way, the mine would sense the laser. He smiled as he watched the mine glow a bright red, catching everyone's attention. "Fall back!"

That order was too late however, as all the mines started to glow a bright red, not even a second later. All those mines erupted into a huge ball of fire, engulfing everyone that wasn't Styx Omega. The entire opposite wall looked like it just collapsed, crushing every single living life that was once alive. The screaming absolutely horrible to listen to. Very horrid that was full or blood.

Everyone took cover and did their best to hide themselves from the flying debris that was shooting in every which way. Also seemed that the roof was caving in as well. In fact, when Fox looked up. He saw the entire roof cracking and looked like it was giving from the weight and stress.

"Back into the tunnel!" He ordered, grabbing Krystal's wrist and dragging her behind him. He could hear the sounds all around him getting louder, the sound of a collapsing building.

Fox and Krystal made it inside the tunnel, waiting for the other to arrive after him. The first to do so was Adrian and Miyu, a good portion of their bodies covered in dust and falling debris. Next was Zeria, finally Bill and Electra. It was at that moment, just as they entered, the roof caved in and destroyed the entire chamber that was in front of them. Whoever was still alive, was alive no more.

"Talk about timing. Seems that is always the case. The last of the good guys just make it as something finally collapses." Bill commented, breathing hard. He always hated being last.

"Come on. We got to go. Wolf and his team is in trouble."

"How can u tell?" Adrian asked, realizing he had forgotten something. "Shit! I dropped the Pea and its Pods."

"Honey? You needed a different name for that anyway."

"No. You don't get it. That was the joke. My Pea and its Pods. PeaPod."

"Yeah We get it Adrian. Come on. I know because I'm the telepath, remember? Now get your ass in gear and let's go!"

"Fox. They are on the other side of the planet. It'll take us forever to reach them. We need help that will reach them sooner." Electra made a valid point. They were on the other side of Midnight, they probably wouldn't make it to them on time. This concerned the aging vulpine, but it was them he looked up at the ceiling. He had an idea.

"Come on. I know someone who can help them." He said, running out of the tunnel, out into open air.

I waited for that door to burst open, or at least get blown away. It was only a matter of seconds now. The moment those doors fly from their hinges or whatever is holding it in place, I would stick my gun out and open fire. I had a feeling I may have to stand out in the open and maul down everyone in my line of sight. I hope I didn't. Not yet.

It was like almost on cue, the door blew apart, sending metal fragments everywhere. "Give me strength." Was all I mumbled, as I stuck my gun out the door and squeezed the trigger. Knowing well that guys were standing at the doorway, a mere few feet away.

Ryan had done the same and knew too. He held a look of disgust as he could hear bones and organs exploding from the passing bullets. It was truly a nasty sound to hear, but some things you have to learn to tune out. Luckily, I'm able to cancel sounds with my dull mind, but it took a long time. No matter how hard you try, you just have to listen to every sound. I began to feel nausea.

Wolf and Matt took this opportunity to open fire, picking off guys that stood on that bridge a quarter mile long. Wasn't a start idea, but I guess they figured they couldn't take all of us down. Little did they know, we wouldn't let them overtake us. We just prayed we were enough and help was on the way. By the looks of things, we were on our own.

I got to the point were I was bursting my gun, as I didn't have the special chamber that contained my ammo belts. No, I just let them drop to the floor so I could see how much I had left before reloading. I watched Ryan quickly change guns, firing everything he had before he stepped out of line and Fay took his place.

I looked over at Matt and Wolf and they seemed to be doing a damn good job picking off Cain's men. One thing that was for sure, you would look down and you watch see blood entering the office because of all the rain and bodies. In a matter of seconds, about twenty to thirty men were already killed. It was a sad thing to do. They were only bounty hunters. They weren't paid to kill. I'm doing this for Sam. For revenge. It's my job to kill. I just didn't think that after all the killing I've done, it was so hard to do it now.

I watched the last round enter my SAW, knowing that it would fire a second later. In which it did, I stepped out and Fara took my place, the same time Katt stepped up to the plate.

I looked up and saw Wolf dispose a cylinder cartridge and insert a new one in a matter of moments, but it was a scary time for him. Plasma rounds started to enter the office, destroying the desk in front of them. If our snipers were unable to be used, it was little chance of beating this out. That desk was their only chance unless they wanted to risk laying down and shooting.

I retook my position at the door, opening fire once again, just as more plasma fire entered the office. I turned and watched the desk get torn to pieces and one round managed to strike Wolf in the stomach. My eyes grew wide with fear as I watched Wolf fall to the ground. Out of rage for seeing my friend get hurt, I began to move out into the open, but a paw grabbed my shoulder and pulled me back.

"You fucking crazy, kid? You'll get killed! Wolf is fine!"

"He's your husband, Fara. Why aren't you more upset?" I said through snarling teeth, as I took my place and started to open fire once again.

"Because a stray round like that will never kill Wolf. It'll take a lot more than that to take him down." She said, just as a round struck my rifle, knocking it out of my hands.

"Shit! No!" I yelled, running for it, which sat in the middle of the floor. In the middle of the open.

"Kid!" I didn't listen, but I did feel a round of plasma strike my back and I fell to the ground. If there was one thing you could say about me, is that I have no common sense.

"Fuck me." I said, lying on the ground, with what felt like someone had taken a bat and bashed my shoulder. It hurt like a civ.

I couldn't move, if I got up. I would get hit my stray plasma rounds and be killed for sure. Now wasn't the time for me to die. Not yet.

I looked up and saw that the desk was no more. It was gone and Wolf and Matt had to retreat to protect themselves from fire. We were losing. It was only a matter of time before we fell apart and be overrun. I closed my eyes and prayed. "_My lord. I ask of thee for help. Save us. Don't let us die here and now. Give us strength and help us fight."_

"_Prayer answered!" _A voice from someone's phone said, how we were able to hear it. None of us will ever know, but it was as we looked outside, a bright blue ball of mass destruction impacted the bridge and caused all sorts of mayhem.

I got up and looked out the open door, seeing that another blue ball hit the bridge again, followed by a bright orange beam of energy. Whatever was happening, the battle went into our favor and it stayed that way. The bridge fell into the bottomless ravine, taking everyone that was on the bridge with it. The sky brightened up even further with a blue glow that could be described as beautiful. Really was a marvelous blue to look at and that blue caused the mountain that was on the other side of the bridge to erupt into chaos. It was flattened in seconds. Only one thing had the power to do this much destruction. It was as we heard a loud roar fill our ears, that we looked up towards the sky and saw a bright light penetrate the dark sky. In a matter of seconds, that bright light took shape and came to a halt just above the mountain range. It was so dark, except for a few lights that we knew only thing could've done this much destruction. With its hover jets firing everything it had to beat the gravity from this planet, our eyes met our savior. The Enterprise.

"_This is Slippy. Don't ask me how I am able to talk to you, but I'm teleporting you aboard. Stand by."_

"Slippy? I'm gonna have to buy you a drink."

"Noted, Wolf." Slippy said over the everyone's phone, as everyone stood straight and waited to be returned back to their new home. I held my SAW close to me as I laid still, unable to get back up yet from being shot. For a moment though, I felt empty and no pain endured me. I was peaceful, but it all came back when I found myself back on the floor of the Enterprise. I laid on my back, realizing how dumb that was as I turned over and grabbed my shoulder.

"You are absolutely the dumbest person I ever met, kid." Wolf said, as he pulled me up by my arms, checking out the wound on my back.

"At least we can say we got battle scars from all this."

"Your's was out of stupidity though. Who runs to get their gun when they know they will get shot?"

"Apparently me. How's my shoulder?"

"You'll live. Just a scratch. It's better than you think it is."

"Good because I thought there was a hole in it."

"You over-dramatic baby."

"Am not because I'm lying, but God it hurts."

"Why do I have a feeling Zeria is gonna blame me for this?"

"She won't, Wolf. Well she might, but you're not stupid. Something she needs to know someday."

Everyone was once again safely aboard the Enterprise, which now began to ascend into the heavens, the very dark heavens, above this dark planet. By far, this was the worst place to be. It truly was the perfect analogy to describe hell. Let's hope we never have to visit this place again. We took care of Cain's operations here. He has no reason to come back. We have no reason to come back.

Slippy did everything he could, along with the help of Natasha, to beat the gravity and they successfully did. The Enterprise penetrated the top layer of clouds, seeing nothing, but a dark sky above them. They would be away from here in a matter of seconds at their present rate of climb.

Truly was a very beautiful sky to look at once we left the planet's atmosphere. It was the perfect ideal sight you like to see. Billions of stars and no sun or star to interfere. You could see everything and that's how everyone liked it sometimes.

There was just a bit of a problem now. Where do we go from here? We had lost Cain by reasons we cannot explain. We knew he had to have gotten away, but how was it that he got away without us detecting him? What did he have that prevented us from seeing him? It was this kind of situation that got us to realize that we underestimated him. He had more technologies that we had anticipated. We didn't know what to do now.

I sat in the sickbay with Zeria and Electra were at my side. I just sat there, lost in my own thoughts, trying not to think about the pain I had to endure while Mrs. Grey stitched up my shoulder wound. Just like what Wolf told me, 'just a scratch'. Just another wound in a matter of days. It was as I stared at my hand that I realized that I irritated it during all of this. I would have to have it fixed once again.

"Alright, kid. Your shoulder is as good as new. Let me just take a look at your hand quickly and I'll get you out of here."

"K." Was all I said, nothing more. I closed my eyes and returned to my thoughts, only feeling the love from Zeria as she gently stroked my broken hand. Surprisingly, it was gentle enough where I didn't feel any pain. I didn't look at her, but I didn't need to know that she couldn't take her eyes off me. I just gave a satisfying growl to let her know that I appreciated her love.

Everyone now sat in the office behind the bridge once again, trying to figure out what was the next motive. Some suggested we check out the planet Carbon, but what are the chances of Cain going to the only planet we haven't been to yet? Fox didn't like those odds and decided against it. Returning back to square one.

"So what do we do? We can't just sit here and by some miracle that Cain crosses paths with us and we catch him there. Not bloody likely that will happen. He's gone back into hiding and I don't know where we can go." Ryan made a valid point, taking a sip of Jager to help calm him down. It was the only thing any of us could do right now. Calm down and relax, but where to proceed?

"We don't have the kinds of contacts anymore like we used to have back when we were Star Fox. No, now it's much harder to do. All we have our informants or people who just happened to see him. Peppy or Beltino were around, we could find him in no time. No offense Slippy, but I don't think you have the kind of resources to be able to locate Cain."

"No. I would be able to if I had a lead, but I got nothing to offer. We are at a dead end and I don't know how to get us on the right track."

"I would say we could head back to Corneria, but one. We will be attacked by the people who loved Peppy. They will blame us for his death. Plus, what if we are just going the wrong way. We could head one direction and Cain would be heading the other. We never be able to find or catch him. This is absolutely horrible right now. I don't know what to do."

"None of us do, O'Donnell. Which is why we are here. Who thought a job we thought would only take a couple days the most, end up lasting for how long has it been?"

"Almost two weeks, Adrian. Kids are probably sobbing their eyes out because they miss us so much." Fay said, beginning to shed a few tears because she missed Kristy so much. She wanted to hold her little girl once again. Ryan saw her pain and wrapped his arms around her, bringing her close to him.

Fox just got out of his chair and knocked his cup of coffee of the table, listening to it shatter upon impact with the floor. "I feel so helpless right now. We got nothing and we just can't return home without completing our mission. Damnit I have been doing this kind of work for six years. I haven't failed once. God damnit I refuse to let that number go from…..I don't remember how many I've caught to one failure. I won't let it happen. What the fuck do we do?"

"Wait a minute." Krystal said as she rose from her chair, gaining the eyes of everyone in the room. She waited eagerly for her to start talking, but seconds past and they started to think she didn't have anything. Until, "If I recall, the kid said he had some contacts that he keeps in touch with. They are the ones who led us to Midnight in the first place. Maybe they can help us determine where Cain has gone."

"That's pretty good. I did ask him if these contacts of his were friends, but he told me he didn't remember. That's when I pistol whipped him." Fox said, gaining a slight glare from his wife, but shook it off. "Let's go talk to him. Maybe they'll know."

"Sure. I'll give them a call. Just as soon as I remember where I put my phone." I said, as I started to looking around the room, but Electra hit me.

"Stop moving or I'll break your hand even more."

I looked down at her, as she carefully began to splint and wrap my hand. She gave me some painkillers and I was feeling like I was on top of the world. That soon came to a stop when I felt a vibration, followed by an increasing volume of music. It was my cell phone. It was in my pocket. "There's my phone."

I pulled my phone out of my pocket, while receiving a few looks and a few rolling eyes. I ignored it as I pulled out my phone and looked at the number. No name. Just a number. I knew who it was. I was about to answer, but then remembered something. "Cover your ears and don't you dare probe my mind. Krystal? Make sure the vulpine here prevents that. Put a block on my mind, please?"

"Sure." As she covered her ears and set up a strong mental block that surrounded my mind. A block not even Fox could penetrate, at least for ten seconds. Luckily, it only takes two.

"YenkoJeff87." Was all I said, before I told them they could listen.

"_Hey, Jeff. How are you? How did the hunt go?"_

"We failed, Dom. We lost Cain and now we don't know where he is."

"_Yeah, I know. I'm watching him as we speak now. He's heading back to Lylat. Appears he may have some business with Venom. Maybe Titania. Hard to say at the moment. His path of flight is directly right at either of those two planets. I'll keep you informed."_

"Actually. We better come to you. We'll need your help."

"_**Sigh.**__ Jeff. You know we love you and we would help you with any problem you have, but you know our rule. We don't come out in public."_

"You are not coming out in public. We will come to you. At the base."

"_That's even worse!"_

"Dominic! We need your help and I can't do this over the phone. You said you will help with anything and well. We need this really bad. This bastard has done more damage to us than we have to him. Sure, we just took out his operations on Midnight, but we still don't have HIM. Take all the necessary precautions you need, but we are coming to you. Expect us in about…_**long pause**_…..close to a day. Maybe twenty hours so that's about nineteen hundred on Fichina."

"_Will I be able to trust these boys you are with? They may be Styx Omega, but can we trust them? I'm serious here, Jeff. If they spread the word about us, we will come after you and kill you."_

"I understand the risks, but I do trust them. They are becoming the family I lost thirteen years ago." That last sentence seemed that have entered everyone's ears better than anything else. What I just said to them, it made all of them smile.

"_**Long, defeating sigh. **__Alright. We will expect you, but don't expect anything less than a gun in your face when you show up. We are prepared to keep our secret safe. You got it?" _The voice said, sounding very serious and threatening_._

"I wouldn't expect anything less than you."

"_Yeah, I know. I taught you everything I know about myself. Haha. Alright. See you soon."_

"Yeah." I hung up the phone and felt a tightening pressure around my hand. Electra was now done with wrapping my hand and smiled at me. I nodded at her and tried to flex my hand. It was rather hard to do with all the bandages, but my hand will heal.

"Well? Where do we go?"

I just looked at all of them, took in each of their facial expressions, before I just said one sentence that explained everything. "Computer? Set course to Fichina."

"_Understood."_

"You really mean what you said about us, kid? Us being your family?" Ryan asked, only to receive a glare from me.

"No." With that, I walked out of the sick bay and began to explore the ship, Zeria not too far behind me. Ryan had a look of shock and disappointment, but when he turned to Fox.

"He's messing with you. I probed his mind."

"Oh….Good."

_**Twenty Hours Later**_

The Enterprise made a perfect geo-synchronize orbit over the very cold planet of Fichina, the sight of the snow and ice below made the toad very uncomfortable. He decided not a chance in hell he was going down there. Only the official members, plus me were going. We could take the cold. Plus this was the warmest it gets all year round. For only a couple weeks out of the year, It gets above zero instead of below for the rest of the time.

Everyone boarded the Mercury and we made a quick flight down to the planet. I informed Adrian where exactly we needed to go, but I haven't yet said a word about the people we were meeting. They kept bugging me, trying to get me to say at least something, but I always told them I can't. They even tried to probe me and I was able to beat Fox's telepathy. I don't know how, but I did, but he inflicted such a headache on me.

Snow flew into the air as the Mercury slowly started to travel the last several feet before we were on the ground. From everyone's point of view, we were in the middle of nowhere. They were right in a sense.

The loading ramp lowered once the drop ship was safely on the ground. I was the first to exit, taking in the cold, but warm day this planet rarely sees. There wasn't any paths or anything that would lead us in a general direction. These guys wanted to remain hidden. They knew how to do a good job.

I stepped into the deep snow, about a foot deep, and started to look around. I hadn't visited this place in years and I was trying to get my bearings. Only thing I could determine which way to go was a tree. Lifeless and as solid as ice.

There was only one clue on the tree that would determine where to go, and it all had to be seen with special glasses. To anyone, they were ordinary sunglasses as I pulled them out of my pocket and placed them in front of my eyes, but there was a special button next to the right lens that had to be press. Everything glowed red, like it does for infrared but there was a white arrow pointing left. Then I looked in that direction and saw a path, but to the naked eye. There wasn't anything there. This was the way to go.

I started walking in that direction, telling everyone to follow me. Fox just looked at the tree and tried every optic setting he had, and he couldn't see what I saw. Whatever it was, it was beyond his vision. He wondered who these guys really were.

A mile we walked and still haven't found anything yet. Where was this kid taking us? I looked behind and didn't see any footprints. What kind of snow is this? It's like it's not even snow, but it looks and feels like it. Who were these guys? That's we everyone came to a halt.

In the distance, about quarter mile away, was a small house, but it looked run down. Like it would collapse any second by the look of things. It was pretty big, but it was desolate. This entire area was desolate. No wonder knows about this place. It's lifeless and pointless to come here.

We walked the rest of the way, seeing strange mounds in the snow. I informed them that it they were AA guns. Whatever would fly over would be shot down, no ifs, ands, or buts. They have no right flying over here. That was the law when it came to these people.

The house drew closer and that's when everyone was able to detect every detail of this area and the house. For one thing, a couple cars were sitting in front of the house. Running, but not moving. Just the engines running at normal idling speed. The first one that was noticed was a pickup. A Ford F-150, about early two thousands from the planet Earth. Red, almost maroonish in color. The second one was a Chevrolet Monte Carlo, exact year, nineteen ninety-eight. Dark green in color.

Then you look around and you see a couple trees, again. Like the one we saw, they were dead and as hard as ice. The house from the exterior looked to be trashed and haunted, but that was the idea. This house was completely redone from the inside out. On the layer underneath the wood, was an undetectable metal that no radar or sensor, not even a metal detector can identify.

This also an undetectable power source that couldn't even be picked up by anything. Who were these guys and how did they get such technologies to keep themselves hidden? Those were the thoughts of everyone around me.

Plus the weaponry, AA guns that surrounded this house, but they contained rockets that can fly up to ten miles away and the radar can pick up an object twenty. It had a perfect launch sequence that as soon as that object comes into firing range, that's when they are destroyed. These missiles are dead precise and can never miss. How? I haven't even had the heart to ask. Some things are best left unsaid.

My attention was brought back to the cars, in particular. The Monte Carlo. I remember the day I bought it and brought it to this house. Everyone thought that I was mad, thinking a car like that couldn't survive around here. Well, they were right. So, I had to live on my own. The day I got that car was the day I had to live alone. Nothing personal, but something about that car made me not want to give it up.

"FREEZE!" A loud yell over came everything around us, as the door flew open and four people walked out of the house, holding high-powered, plasma-carrying Rail rifles. Designed to shoot and disintegrate anything it touches.

I turned and looked at the four and I couldn't help, but bring a smile to my face. Everyone else reached for their weapons, but I lowered my hand to stop them from doing something they would regret. I stepped forward and approached the lead guy of the four person group, a jackal. Had the glaring look that looked like would shoot lasers out of his eyes. That went away when I stepped in front of him.

"You think after all these years, you would grow a little, Meiners. My God. I bet you're not even six foot."

"I'm six-two, you bastard. Not my fault you are six-seven."

The jackal laughed as he pulled me into a hug, patting my back. "Missed you, friend. You didn't keep in touch like you said you would."

"I know." I said with a hint of sorrow. "It's…it's been tough for me."

"I know. What they've done to you, I'm surprised you turned out this well. Though, what the hell has happened to you? You look like you been in a severe fight."

"I have. Some guy like metal came up and punched the living shit out of me. Then he has the nerve to pistol whip me when I least expect it."

"Sounds like it hurts. Get a good look at the guy?"

"It's that fox behind me." I said, hooking my thumb behind me in the direction of Fox. He was shocked I told he did this to me and felt like he was gonna have to defend himself. "I deserved it though so don't hurt him. He's cool."

The jackal walked past me and approached Fox, holding his rifle at a resting position, with Fox's hand above his revolver. "Fox McCloud?"

"Yeah, that's right."

"Dominic Calvin. Welcome." He said, extending his hand, which Fox gladly accepted a second later. "Iguana over there, Hunter Rommel. The black wolf, Natalie Cartwright. The hyena behind her, Jack Roswell. Welcome to our home and base of operations."

"Impressive keeping yourselves a secret. How have you kept yourselves so secretive?"

"We kept ourselves a secret because we want to be a secret. We are like the Grim Reaper, no one knows about us until it is too late."

Fox just nodded, as he turned his head and focused on me as I was saying hello to everyone again.

"Oh Jeff. So good to see you again. You've grown up into a handsome young wolf."

"Thanks, Natalie. Still looking good as ever."

"Hey hey. Don't be trying to take my girl, minor." The hyena said with humor in his voice, as he wrapped an arm around me and pulled me into a hug.

"No worries, Jack. I have never had an intention to steal her from you. I know what she means to you."

"Good man. I taught you well."

"Faus. How's it going?"

"It goes good, lupine. Business very exciting when you made contact with us again." The giant iguana said with a noticeable German accent, as he stood over seven feet tall, maybe close to eight and built like a mountain.

"After all these years, you still call me lupine. Why?"

"Your nickname. Always will be."

"_**Sigh**_. Thank you for taking good care of my car. She looks like she still runs great."

"We maintain her everyday, let it run for a few hours and whatnot. Never drive it, but we kept it warm for you."

"Thank you. I'll be taking her with me when we leave."

"You better. I'm tired of filling her up if it's never driven. Come on. Despite this being our summer, get in the house. We'll get you all some coffee."

"You know I don't drink coffee."

"I know. I know what you like."

Calvin led us into the house, following the other three as they entered ahead of him. When we stepped through the door, everything looked almost exactly the same. The only things that changed were the equipment, which were upgraded into more highly sophisticated technology.

"We took a scan of that ship in orbit when you arrived, the Enterprise. I'll tell you this. That's a better ship than the Matchitehew, Fox. No offense, but this ship is designed for the business you have. The Matchitehew….that was perfect for the war you had over Corneria."

"The Matchitehew was a great ship. Don't be talking bad about it. A lot of things were left on that ship that I'll miss."

"Peppy and Beltino were great men. Highly respected, especially by us. If Beltino had our technology, there would be no stop to his experiments. He would make Corneria even better."

"You're talking like you are better than us. Why you talking like that?"

"I'm not trying to, Wolf. You are another man we respect. All of you we respect. It's your days in Star Fox and Star Wolf is what got us to where we are now. We thrived to be better, but in a sense. We failed. You see. Why do you think we choose to stay secluded?"

"Well. No man would go this far to try and stay in the shadows. Someone must've forced you to."

"Correct. You see. Now you better keep your mouths shut because this is highly classified shit that I am about to tell you. You intend to spread the word, you won't be leaving this house alive."

"Our lips are sealed."

"Alright. We were an elite unit for the Cornerian Military. Like your group, Bill, only we called ourselves Sideswipe. Like the character in that movie, Transformers. The second one. That Corvette Concept. The one that goes, 'Damn. I'm good.' Well, we called ourselves that because we were also that arrogant. We knew that and we considered ourselves untouchable." The jackal began, as he looked to his right and saw Natalie and Jack walking in with a couple trays with mugs of coffee on them. I walked in after them with a glass of Mountain Dew. Dominic just chuckled before he continued.

"Thanks. Where was I? Oh yeah. Anyway, after the Aparoids, when we had that new general for a while. What's his name? General…shit. Begins with a C…Cornwall! Ulysses Cornwall. He realized our skills and always put us to work, but we knew a secret about him. He didn't really work for Corneria. He worked as an insider for Venom and since we knew this. He thought that putting us on hard missions would get us killed. Well, we proved him wrong every time. Finally, after a mission that nearly got Faustian killed. We swore that we bring that man to justice, but to convince a Federal Court without evidence was futile. We assassinated him instead."

"You were proven right afterwards. They found out that he was working for Venom, but before he was killed. He sent out a warrant for your arrest that could never be called back. Don't know how, but it remained."

"That's right, Adrian. So, we decided that we would do more good if we went solo. We set up operations here and we've been here for about fourteen years."

"How did the kid find you?" "That we don't know. He managed to penetrate our defenses without us knowing. He claims he just knows how to be quiet. Jeff is pretty good when it comes to staying quiet. Rolls his feet like no other and produces no sound. Little bastard." Dominic said, as he laughed and slapped my shoulder.

"I've been told they nearly shat their pants when they heard a knock on the door." I commented, getting a laugh out of the group, before Calvin continued.

"We had been researching about the death of his parents and had a feeling that something so tragic would ruin a life as young as him. It had and he came to us. I'll never know how he found or even heard of us. He won't say. Saying that, 'some things are best left unsaid', but we took him in and we did our best to care for him. We also did our best to train him so he would be able to live life the best he could and we informed everything he needed to know about who killed his family. When we heard that he succeeded. We congratulated the boy and he lived with us for a few years. Then we heard about what happened on Macbeth. We knew what that would do to him. Then we heard about what had happened to Sam. We knew he would make contact with us shortly. He called an hour later and told him that it was Cain who started all of this and he swore vengeance. When we told him that you guys were after him. That's when he set out to find you."

"So you are the one who told him about our mission. He seemed pretty persistent on coming with us. Krystal and I both found sorrow and pain inside of him. We couldn't turn him away, but as time went on. We learned about his past and it's hard to believe that someone could live a life like he has. It's horrible."

"He also told us that he did a few drugs. How did that affect him?" Fara spoke for the first time in this conversation, which seemed like a good question to ask. Calvin or myself did not seem to mind the question.

"From what he probably told you guys. He has done nothing stronger than weed. Well, he speaks the truth. At least, that's what he tells us as well, but we did a little spying on him a few times. Just weed. How did that affect him though? Well, he was definitely a different person. He was hyper and cheery most of the time, but that was facial. Look into his eyes, they were bright yellow and you know what yellow eyes mean, don't ya?"

Everyone nodded at the question, understanding that yellow eyes meant the demon inside the person took over his body and was no longer himself. In my case, the yellow eyes were my natural eye color at the time because I wanted so many people dead.

"Well, the stuff he took didn't really had no affect on him because every time he came back. He went back to his normal self. We did our best to help, but we were pretty sure he was long gone and we couldn't bring him back. The only thing that was able to bring him to a some-what normal consciousness were the locations of the people who took away his family and Sam. I didn't think he would ever recover. I still don't think he has, but I guess only time will tell."

"When we first met him, his entire presence was filled with hatred and sorrow. Hatred towards those who destroyed him and the sorrow of losing the people he loved so much. I was tempted to not allow him to tag along with us, but how can you turn down a person who's been through so much? I just couldn't bring myself to say no."

"I know, Fox, but there are rules that are meant to be broken for certain people. He was only eight when he came to us. How _can_ you turn down someone, especially when they are only eight year old and had just lost his parents? It's impossible to do and this was when we were ruthless killers. We would kill a door-to-door salesman if he came and knocked on the door. But Jeff…we opened up to him."

"Yeah. So have we. Especially a certain vixen over there." Krystal entered the conversation, taking her gaze towards Zeria, as she just blushed.

"She looks a lot like Sam, Jeff. That why you are with her?"

"No. I'm with her because she makes me feel happy. Something I rarely feel anymore." I said to the jackal, as I turned and looked at Zeria. Holding her hand tight and smiling like I rarely do. "Cute kid. _**Pause. **_So. Time for business. What is it you need from us? I can only assume it's about Cain."

"We need his location. Where has he gone? What can we do to get him out into the open?"

"There's problem there." Hunter entered the conversation, after taking a sip from his coffee. "Cain like us. He only come out when he want to be seen."

"Rommel is right. We do know where he is right now, but getting him out into the open? There's no chance there. You're up shit's creek there."

"Then what do you propose?"

"Continue ruining his business. Man's a drug dealer. When you stop his flow of drugs, he starts to get concerned. He has one big factory and that's in Chicago on Earth, but no guarantees that will bring him out, but it will do this. It will send him home and start conducting meetings with other big shot dealers and buyers. That's when you strike."

"Where does he live?" "Degapalms Beach on Corneria."

"Son of a bitch. He's been living under our noses the whole time." Adrian got up, cursing as he started to pace the room.

"Man like him deserves to die. Why don't we just go to Corneria and kill him now?"

"Because he's not there. He's on Titania, then Venom. You'll never catch him. No matter where you go, he'll always be ahead of you. I'm sorry to say this, but this is the only way. You follow our plan, he'll be dead by the middle of next week."

"You sure?"

"Absolutely"

"For Jeff, we are willing to leave here and help you out. Be nice to have some fresh minds and brains with you for a change, I bet. All of you look so worn out." Natalie said, getting up from her chair and bringing her mug into the kitchen.

"We haven't been getting much sleep lately. This has been awfully hard on us and we just want to get this over with and be with our kids. We haven't been without them this long before. We miss them terribly." Fara said, slowly dropping her head to the floor, a tear forming as she thought about Jericho and Lena.

"You'll be seeing them very soon, Fara. Just listen to us and you'll be with them very soon." Dominic said, giving her a reassuring smile, but it took a while for Fara to look up and acknowledge it.

"When do we leave?"

"Whenever you guys are ready. I figured you would want to leave in a couple hours, just to allow you to rest, but if you want to get going now. Give us ten minutes to pack and load and put the house on secured lockdown."

"We all like to leave now, I think. If you don't mind."

"Then let's get ready to leave, Wolf. You can help us out. Go to the armory and load up the list of weapons I have on the wall. Number six. Find those weapons and bring them into the garage and load them into the big Suburban. It would be greatly appreciated."

"No prob, Dominic." Fox said, shaking the jackal's hand as he assigned himself, Wolf and Matt to get the stuff.

"Alright guys. Start lockdown procedures. Jeff? Bring in the One Fifty and load your car up. Remember you are taking it with you."

"I know, Jack. Thanks for the reminder."

For those who weren't working, they just watched the four Sideswipe members get to work. Typing ferociously on the computers in front of them. The first thing that seemed to matter most was making sure the AA guns were lockdown under 'protection'. Followed by power, etc…

Fox, Wolf and Matt entered the armory and took a quick look around the room. About as many weapons as there were on the Matchitehew. Including a crossbow, which really grabbed Matt's attention.

Wolf turned his head and saw sheets of paper on the wall, counting down until he stood in front of number six. The list including M Sixteens, one SAW, two Glocks, two Berettas, one sawed-off shotguns, two grenade launchers, one bazooka, four Rails, four plasma rifles and one Javelin.

"They got everything, but a tank."

"I think the Javelin might be even better than a tank. And you missed one, Wolf. Look. One Barrett Fifty Cal."

"Of course. Who wouldn't want to use a Barrett?"

"These guys don't mess around. Kinda wondering what we are getting ourselves into for including them in our mission?"

"We're about to find out. Well, I guess we better start grabbing the guns. Luckily for us, they have them labeled." Wolf said, as he walked over to the location of the first guns on the list. He prepared to load them into duffle bags that were right below the lists.

"I'm just happy they like the kid. We be dead right now if it weren't for him."

"We wouldn't even be here if it weren't for the kid. It's because of us knowing him that we are here. Come on, before we get on their bad side. Load up the bags. Let's get this done."

I walked outside back into the cold, yet summerish weather for Fortuna. I marveled the scenery, which wasn't much to look at. It was all snowy plains as far as the eye can see. The only landmarks wee a few trees that mainly surrounded this house.

I returned my gaze back to my car, as it just sat there with its engine running. It made me happy knowing it was still running and I knew I would have this car for a long time to come. Crunching snow made me turn to see who was approaching, only to find Zeria walking up to me.

Without a single word, she just leaned forward and planted a heated kiss on my neck, which got me in a mood to screw her right there. I had to resist, but I did show her my appreciation as I smiled at her and kissed her lips.

"Hey babe. What's up?"

"Nothing. I just thought you'd like that."

"Trust me. I did. Thank you."

"No problem." She smiled, as she stood in front of me, waiting for me to wrap my arms around her and bring her close to me. I didn't hesitate.

We stared off into the distance, not wanting this moment to end between us, but we knew we would only have maybe a couple minutes before everyone started to exit the house.

"You happy?"

I was stunned at the question. "What you mean?" I had asked her, shifting my gaze to look at her.

"You happy seeing your friends again?"

"I'm more happy just holding you right now. I can't recall the last time I felt this happy." I said, as I pressed my lips against her ear, kissing it gently numerous times, which Zeria really enjoyed. "I love you, Zeria. More than you will ever know."

Those words brought a tear to her eyes, as she turned around and wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling me into a passionate kiss, which lasted for only a few seconds, but to the both of us. Years.

She finally pulled away, a loving smile on her muzzle, which got me smiling in return. "I love you too, Jeff. So much."

We continued to hold each other, not aware of the fact that Fox and Krystal were standing outside the door, watching our moment together. As they stood there, it reminded them of how their relationship was when they first met on Sauria. Rough at first when Krystal almost shot Fox for accusing him of being the enemy, but that all changed once she saw how caring Fox was to her. **(Note: This never happened because of one thing. I plan to make a prequel to The Rise of Styx Omega. This will basically be Star Fox Adventures, but this will be a completely different story. I'm still working on it and I'm not happy with how it is turning out. You'll get more info later on about it.)**

"You know how close you were to shooting me?"

"The slightest breeze would've made me fire. Luckily for you, we were in a cave."

"Yeah. Thank God for that." Fox said with a laugh, as he wrapped an arm around his wife, as she continued to stare at the young couple before them.

"I can definitely feel a different wolf right now. I don't feel his hurt or pain, but I feel joy within him. I don't think he's been this happy in a long time."

"Let's hope he survives because Zeria would never love again if something happened to him. I'll make sure of it."

"Alright! The house is shutdown. Let's get this show on the road!" Jack yelled, as he and Natalie exited the house, with a metal door shutting right in front of it. A metal only known to be indestructible. This entire house was lined with it. A complete impenetrable fortress.

I turned my head and saw the ground slowly lifting upwards, a black Suburban sitting there, waiting to exit. Hunter and Dominic were inside the vehicle, with Wolf, Bill and Matt in the back of the vehicle. By the look on Bill's face, he was excited as hell to be going on another mission.

"Alright! Jeff. You'll be driving your car with your little woman there. Everyone else, get in the truck and we will drive the distance to your ship. We on the other hand, have a different ship location and we will meet you on the Enterprise. Questions? Good. Let's go." Dominic yelled, as he allowed his two other companions enter the vehicle while the remaining members of Styx Omega jumped into the back of the SUV.

I watched the tires spin as he sped away, leaving only Zeria and I to ourselves. "As much as I would love to make love to you right now. We have to get a move on. Come on, babe." I said, as I made the short distance to my car, the silver vixen closely behind.

I entered the vehicle and waited for Zeria to close the door before I pulled the floor shifter into OD and pushed the pedal down to the floor, watching snow being thrown into the air by the front-wheel drive car.

Adrian carefully piloted the Mercury into the hanger bay of the large ship, carefully placing it on the hard metal floor. With a flip of the switch, the magnetic plates on each landing claw glued themselves to the floor.

Everyone exited the drop ship, not before Adrian carefully released my car from its state-of-the-art cargo hold. Which basically was an air-filled bubble that forms on the outside of the ship.

With the wheels on the ground, I got in the vehicle and drove it off to the side of the bay, out of harm's way.

We stood there for a good ten minutes, waiting impatiently for the remaining team to show up. There wasn't a thing approaching us and I stood there confident, while the other's stood there not happy about waiting.

"Where are they, kid? We have been standing here for a good while. We will leave without them." Fox threatened, not bothering to look at me, but kept his eyes on the open space in front of him.

I stood there, a smirk forming because I knew exactly where they were. They just wanted to make sure that their surroundings were safe before they would proceed with landing their ship. Just like them, when things were secure enough as is, they have to make sure it was even more secure.

Another five minutes past and now Fox was just about ready to leave. Only thing that prevented this was me, when I yelled out. I looked at my phone and saw it had began to glow blue. Only one thing, I looked forward, along with everyone else.

The space in front of us began to distort and materialize until something began to take shape. It was obviously a ship, wait. Make that four ships, but there was an unusual shape to them. Well, to the others.

They were merged fighters, something that no one has ever thought of. It was the combined technology to form a Arwing/Wolfen hybrid fighter. The speed, maneuverability and power from the two fighters to form what every sees before them. One was carrying some sort of cargo hold behind it.

It had the style of both an Arwing and a Wolfen and looked pretty damn nifty. It's amazing this wasn't thought of before. Imagine the success these things would have against Venom's forces. They would've never been able to handle Corneria's forces.

Without any authorization, the four ships slowly moved forward towards the hanger bay, making sure they had plenty of room to land and were evenly spaced to prevent lack of space.

I turned and saw everyone's face marvel over the four ships. It truly did bring some memories back to them, seeing part of their fighters in front of them. They shimmered the bright silver that was the color of the Arwing's hull, with bits black and red that were part of the Wolfens.

They landed gently on the metal floor and could hear a loud suction-type sound. It was the magnetic pads attaching themselves to the floor. They would no longer move about as the ship flew.

"Kinda like looking into the past, right? Thanks to you guys. We were able to come up with these fighters." Dominic said, as the canopy opened above him, allowing him to exit his fighter.

Natalie was the first to land on the ground, followed by Hunter, Jack, then Dominic. All were wearing a special kind of uniform that was very similar to what Navy Seals wore during battle.

"Where's your truck?"

"In that hold right behind Jack's fighter. We'll unload it once we get to Chicago. We'll use it to drive around and such. I recommend you guys get some vehicles. Maybe your bounty hunting vehicles?"

"Alright. We get the idea. We'll stop by Corneria and grab our trucks. Just as long as we make the Gate by sixteen hundred. We have a reservation to take the Hype-Worm to Earth."

"Why aren't we taking the Gate Lens?" Wolf asked Fox, raising a cocked eyebrow.

"Too many ships needed the Lens today and we couldn't get a spot in. I told them it was important business, but they wouldn't give me five minutes. So we have to take the Hype-Worm."

"What is the Hype-Worm?" I asked the question, never hearing that term before. Obviously, the perfect question to ask.

"It's called the Hyperspace-Wormhole. Hype-Worm for short. Need I say more?"

"Is it faster than a normal wormhole or hyperspace?"

"It combines the two speeds together. So you are traveling twice as fast as you would in either or. Far more stable as well. One of the first things Beltino invented before he finally discovered Gate technology."

"Earth though is still on the other side of the galaxy. How long will this take us?"

"In the Matchitehew, took about nine hours, but I combined the journey with its Jump Drive. I haven't done a test run with the Enterprise's Warp technology. I'm still gonna guess it'll be a ten hour trip. Hopefully less."

"Well, Fox. If you want to leave immediately, I'll run up to the bridge and set a course for Corneria. Ryan, get ready to teleport our vehicles up here. Then I'll make a quick trip over to the Gate and prepare ourselves for our Hype-Worm jump."

"Sounds like a plan, Adrian. Get to it. You seem to be understanding the situation pretty well."

"One of us has to."

"Was that an insult towards me?" "Ryan? Why do you do that? And no. It was towards Bill."

"What did I do?"

The Enterprise just drifted in space, sitting about ten kilometers away from the Gate itself. Bill and Electra were preparing the vehicles for the rapid acceleration that was produced with this jump.

I was told I better be sitting and strapped to the seat because the rate of acceleration will throw me to the other side of the room I was in. I thought it would just be best if I sat against that wall. Save myself the painful trip. Zeria held on to me tightly, but almost trying to make herself very comfortable against my shoulder.

Fox watched Adrian work on the right coordinates that would take us to work. Like a normal jump, the path of journey had to be clear. No way you would want to travel through a star or planet. This was the trickiest part though. Earth was in the opposite direction so Adrian had to plan a smooth one hundred eighty turn, but either way of travel would take us rather close to Solar. This was another bad thing about Hype-Worm travel. Because you are traveling so fast, the sharper the turn. The more stress the ship endures. Too much of it of course will rip the ship to shreds. Adrian had to plan a nice, smooth turn that will cause the lowest amount of stress. This is why this took the Enterprise very close to Solar.

"Alright. I planned this out. In about two seconds after we enter the Worm, we will fly past Solar and for a very brief moment. We will experience very intense heat. We will be flying past on its left side and travel between Aquas and Zoness. Once the turn is completed, we will fly past Corneria and onward towards Earth. All of this will take about eight seconds."

"You sure this will cause the lowest amount of stress? Sounds to me this is still a pretty tight turn."

"Trust me, Fox. I ran this simulation five times. The stress will be minimal and journey through Lylat will quick. We would arrive at Earth, traveling at Maximum Warp, in about eight in a half hours. So this trip will be slightly faster than it would take with the Matchitehew."

Fox just nodded, understanding that this ship was a bit of a juggernaut. Human technology was fascinating him more and more each day he walked around this ship. "Alright. I trust you. We are given the green light in three minutes. Get the Core ready for this kind of trip and maximum shields. That will reduce the amount of heat caused by Solar."

"Already done, Pup. While you were off blabbering about God knows what. The Core is ready and the shields are at maximum. Let's get this shitheap moving." Wolf said, bragging at his fine work. His smile got a bit of a glare from the aging vulpine.

"Go fuck yourself, Wolf. You show offing bastard."

"That would be me." He answered back with a chuckle, strapping himself to his seat, staring at everyone else doing the same.

"You ready, love?"

"Always am, Foxie. Give me a kiss." She said, grabbing onto Fox's chin and pulling him close to her. Just so she could kiss him passionately, also just so she could taste his lips. "You taste good." She finished, as he pulled away from him with a seductive smile.

"We are given the green light, Fox. Stop fucking making out and give me the order!"

"Calm the fuck down, Adrian. Go."

Adrian chuckled ever so slightly, a smile on his face that was only visible to Miyu, as she sat next to him.

The Enterprise quickly gained momentum from its engines firing up. The distance between us and the Gate quickly closed and this had to be time perfectly. Adrian planned on engaging the Core once the turn was completed. This would save every precious second that Fox wanted.

"I heard that, you dick. Seconds are precious in this mission so shut the fuck up."

"Fuck you and your fucking telepathy." Adrian said, giving every bit more power to the engines, just as the ship entered the Gate's artificial wormhole. Everyone was shot back into their seats and immediately felt the crushing force.

Ryan looked at the screen in front of him, just like Adrian had said. For a very brief moment, he watched the hull temperature rise dramatically. The temperature shot above six thousands degrees and began to cool almost immediately.

No more than eight seconds later, Adrian engaged the Core and watched the power transfer quickly travel from the Core to the Nacelles. If you were behind the Enterprise, you would be blinded by the light that gets created from the activation of the Warp Drive.

The speed soon hit its peak, traveling too fast to be even recorded, at least with this ship. If Adrian had to guess, they were traveling at Warp thirty-three. That was only a guess. He could only assume that might be even too low of a guess. Oh well, it didn't matter to him.

"We hit peak speed. The ship has leveled out and the Internal Dampeners have taken effect. We are able to move freely."

"Well done, Adrian. Great work."

"Like always."

Fox smiled at his partner, before he turned to look at Krystal. She turned and smiled at him before she rose from her chair and made her way to the turbo lift.

Fox walked into ten-forward, discovering Zeria and I sitting over by the furthest most table away from Fox's position. He smiled slightly when he saw and felt the love that I showed the silver vixen. It really reminded him of how he was when he first started dating Krystal.

"I never saw Jeff in love. Certainly a huge change from seeing how he was before all this happened." A new voice came from behind the white vulpine. The voice belonging to Dominic.

"He's been through a lot. Before meeting us and now. Can't believe all the stuff he's been through and all the shit we put him through." Fox commented, turning back to stare at the young couple, still oblivious to the people watching them. "He mentioned something about him dealing with some bad people before. What happened?"

Calvin just stare at Fox for a moment, but then lowered his gaze to the floor. It looked like he was trying to remember what exactly had happened. It took him about a minute to find the answer. He didn't even realize he sat down at the nearest table, Fox sitting across from him.

"When he was eleven, almost twelve I believe. Right after he managed to kill to people who murdered his family. Before he actually came to live with us, he got caught up with some mobsters. At first, they just wanted him to work for them. You know? Kid work. Nothing too serious. Well, the feds were starting to come down on them and they blamed Jeff for squealing. That wasn't true, but since he was new. Well, enough said. Anyhow, he took huge offense to this accusation, and murdered their made guy. Realizing what he had done, he fled as fast and as far as he could go. They were always after him and Jeff only had one choice. He called us. We flew as fast as we could to Corneria and found him in an alleyway in the middle of a very harsh winter. This was the only thing he could do. With a powerful mob after him, the alleys were the safest bet for a twelve year old. We took him from Corneria and he lived with us on Fichina. He doesn't worry about that mob now. It's been a decade since he last saw them and they would never be able to recognize him. With his green fur and all. When he first met them, he had black fur. He says though that he will kill them if he ever finds out they are still after him. He's sure of it, but he wants exact proof."

"Kinda hard to believe that a little kid like him can go from a parent's little angel to what he's become today. I didn't think it was even possible."

"I thought it wasn't possible either, but this kid's life is a true example. I still have hopes that he will be able to live a normal life and I think that Zeria girl is gonna get him there. How did she get into the picture? I thought for sure a daughter maybe, but she doesn't look anything like any of you."

"She's basically my daughter. I found her on a planet that was four days away from Zar Mega."

"Beltino."

"What?"

"That planet. It's called Beltino. Discovered by, you guessed it, Beltino Toad. He never told anyone about it though. It was his personal planet. We knew he had flown there a few times. Just so he can marvel his discovery, but he never put it on the map. It was his personal vacation spot when he needed to get away."

Fox just stared at Calvin, taking in the information that was just given to him. If anything, he was glad that the planet was given a name and it brought a smile to his face knowing the planet was named after his dear friend.

"Thanks for telling me that."

"You bet. Now continue. Sorry to interrupt."

"No problem. Well. When I arrived at the planet and went down to its surface. I approached this creek and saw how clear and delicious the water looked. So I took a sip and smiled and went back for more. I saw this tadpole swimming around in my hand, but when it bit me. I realized right there that it was poisonous. I fell unconscious like a few seconds later. When I woke a few hours later, a woman to my right was grinding something, but I couldn't see what. She created an anti-venom and cured me. A few hours later, I reawakened and met Zeria for the first time clearly. She helped me, the least I could've done was take her in. She's been with us ever since."

"I did research on her. Couldn't find a damn thing before three years ago."

"That's because no one knows who she is. She was basically a prisoner on that planet. No one to talk to. She lost her voice and forgotten how to speak completely. She was basically my first child though and I've always been very protective of her. I still don't trust the kid completely, but I guess some things are meant to slide."

"I would trust him with my life. Maybe that will help you out there."

"It helps." Fox said, turning around to look at me kissing Zeria softly on her lips. There was no hesitation or anything. She welcomed the kiss because she felt the same for me as I felt for her. He couldn't help though, but probe our minds.

"_Get out of my head."_ I said to him telepathically, which caused Fox to flinch in shock. "I may be thinking clearly and I can still sense when you are in my mind. Kinda like a ringing." I said out loud, as I didn't bother to look at them.

Zeria just looked over my shoulder and saw Fox and Dominic sitting at the table on the far side of the room. She gave a small wave before she laid her head back down against my chest.

"Mind if I ask you a couple questions?"

"Depends on what they are on."

"Krieger Aurelius." Fox just stared at Dominic for a few moments, before he gave him a nod to proceed. "Any regrets for the things you had done? Killing people that didn't deserved to be killed, like a certain rottweiler who stole your wallet?"

Fox pondered at the question, remembering exactly what he was talking about. Then he started to think back of all the others he had killed or injured badly. Even scared the living hell out of everyone. Sometimes, he thought of what Michelle was up to these days and if his visit changed how she lived her life. "No. I did what I thought was right. Changing the lives of everyone around me."

"You definitely did. Kinda like your white fur than your chestnut color. The metal is a nice touch as well. One look at you and people probably pissed their pants."

"Some did. Some didn't even have enough time to even look at my face." Fox answered coldly, which didn't phase Calvin at all. Fox managed to look up just in time to see me walking out of the room with Zeria following very close behind me. Our arms locked. Fox just lowered his head.

"What?"

"I know where they are going."

"How? Jeff blocked you."

"I probed Zeria. She's not aware of my telepathy."

"So…..where are they going?" "Somewhere private."

Dominic immediately knew what he was talking about. "Oh!"

The look on Zeria's face explained to me at how nervous she really was. It was quite understandable and I couldn't blame her. I felt the same way, which probably explained my sweaty armpits. Though, the way we looked at each other overpowered the tension between us.

I pulled her close to me and pressed my lips against hers, which she deepened by wrapping her arms around my neck. She loves me, I knew that. I love her too and always will. Just like I would always love Sam.

**Lemon Scene:**

I could feel her hands reaching underneath my shirt and began to rub my chest. She had never done that before and it had been a long time since someone had done this with me. I was taken back a little, which was rather noticeable, but it didn't stop the moment.

I grabbed the back of her shirt, slowly lifting it upwards towards her head. When my hands were just below her shoulders, I pulled away from out kiss and couldn't help, but look down. Her shirt was lifted pretty high and I stared at her stomach. You could tell she works out to keep herself in shape.

For some reason, lifting her shirt got a bit easier and that's when I noticed she was helping me lift her shirt over her head. I stared at her breasts which were covered by her black-laced bra. She was definitely well developed, probably a solid C cup. I couldn't pull my eyes away.

She smirked and giggled a little as she began to reach for my shirt and started to lift it over my head. The moving fabric against my chest brought an end to my trance and I realized what she was doing. I helped her out by pulling off my black t-shirt with ease. She couldn't help, but stare at my chest as well.

"I'm not that muscular." I confessed, as I sounded a little disappointed that I wasn't that strong. I always told myself I needed to get my ass into a gym, but I always procrastinated and that never happened.

She didn't seem to have listened to me, as she leaned forward and started to kiss my chest, which felt excellent. Even when she was pulling off my pants….wait. What?"

I looked down and saw her unhooking my belt and pulling down the zipper of my pants. She got on her knees as she brought my pants down to my ankles. I knew what she was doing. Her pulling down my boxers confirmed my theory.

She marveled at the size of me, which only got bigger as the seconds ticked by. She couldn't wait any longer as she wrapped her lips around my member. Which immediately got a reaction out of me.

I drew my head back and let out a pleasurable growl, as I stood there as tall as I could. Enjoying this experience with the girl I loved. When I lowered my head to look at her, I saw her hands reaching behind her and unclipping her bra. She pulled it off of her and my eyes grew wide when I saw her breasts uncovered.

"Holy shit." I muttered, but it was so quiet in our room. Zeria pulled her mouth away from me and looked up with a smile.

"Thank you." Was she said, before she wrapped her mouth around my dick again. I just chuckled at her, as I watched her worked hard. Moving her head back and forth, trying to get every bit of me inside her.

"You don't seem to be very nervous anymore."

She pulled away again, "No. I'm still nervous, but I pushed it aside. Now do you want me to do this or not?"

"Sorry, ma'am." I responded, as I watched her take my dick inside her mouth once again. Though, she pulled away rather quickly.

"Okay, you ruined it. It's your turn now."

I wasn't really that disappointed, but I would've liked it if she went a little longer, but now it was my time to shine.

I lifted her so she was standing once again and I bent down slightly, just so I could get her nipples into my mouth. I heard her gasp when my tongue just barely touched her left nipple. I could definitely tell that she has never done anything like this before. Not even to herself. If she had, it had been a long time.

I pushed that thought aside when I started to suck on her sensitive nipples. She truly was enjoying this as she started to rub my long, dark-green hair. He breathing started to pick up as well, along with volume.

I moved my head over and began to suck her opposite nipple, which I thought needed some loving. Her response was just the same as I made the switch. She didn't stop me nevertheless. If anything, she pulled my head closer to her chest so I could suck every bit of her nipple.

I could tell that she looked down which I tried to work her pants. She wasn't wearing a belt, but her jeans were just so damn tight, I was having a hard time popping the button. _Ah, there it goes_.

When I felt her button come undone, I slowly pulled the zipper down and carefully inserted my hand into her pants. Be more specific, my hand entered her thong.

She gasped and jumped when she felt my hand rub her clit. She wasn't expecting this to feel so good, at least from a different person. Maybe it was just the fact that it was me.

With my mouth still sucking her nipples, I carefully inserted one finger inside her, which caused her to draw her head back and nearly yell. This got me thinking. _She is gonna be a screamer._

I didn't care about that thought very long, as my finger moved in and out of her, soon came to be two fingers. She didn't care, she was enjoying this too much.

I didn't even realize five minutes had past, when she pulled me up and pressed her lips against mine. I could feel her passion, it had skyrocketed since this whole thing had started. I knew what was coming next.

I pulled away and walked over to the bed, sliding her thong off of her, which caught my attention as I tried to stare at her vagina. It was a little difficult because her tail was in the way. She still had a very nice ass.

I still to have entered another trance because I was not moving and when she turned around, she noticed. She sighed a little as she walked back towards me and grabbed a good hold of my fur, pulling me with her to the bed.

Me landing on top of her ended my trance, as I looked down and felt her hand wrapped around my dick, but something was different. She was guiding my dick inside of her. My God was she tight.

Her eyes were slowly starting to fill with tears because this was a little painful to her. I wanted to back away, but her hand was still wrapped around me and she wasn't ready to let go.

I started using my weight and began to push into her, but it came to a stop a couple inches later. Some sort of wall was preventing me from going any further. I looked up at her and she had a look that wasn't ready for this sort of pain.

"I can stop, you know."

She took a few breaths and nodded her head. "Go. Do it."

I looked at her with uncertainly and I wasn't sure if I wanted to continue. The only thing that was stopping me from pulling away was her look of determination. She really wanted me to do this. With a couple breaths, with a bit of force, I pushed into her and felt something give away. She yelped in pain and grabbed a great hold on my neck. So much so that her claws were digging into me.

I cringed in pain as I could feel blood finding its way through my fur. I looked at her and I saw her starting to calm down. Even with my entire length inside of her, the look of pain was gone, but however replaced with a look of extreme pleasure.

She was enjoying this now and slowly lifted her claws out of my neck, which made me happy. I knew this would hurt the moment I laid down on a pillow, but there were more important things to worry about. Such as pulling my dick out and slide it back into her repetitively.

I had done so and I could feel our passion now build in a way that has never been built between us before. We were now one with each other and there wasn't a force in this world or universe that was going to break it.

I looked down and watched my dick enter and exit her, but not entirely all the way. I still kept my tip in there so it would be easier to thrust in her each time. One thing that I was also right about, she was a screamer.

She was yelling rather loudly, but I had a feeling it was only because this was her first time. It didn't slow me down any, as I kept going with great strength. Each thrust was almost unbearable for her, but she never once told me to stop or slow down.

I felt a warm and tightening sensation surround my dick as I looked down, only to realize that Zeria had hit her climax. When I looked at the clock, I was stunned to realize that nine minutes had past by and I still hadn't come yet. Though, I knew it wasn't much longer as I felt pressure building within me.

I tried to keep in me longer, but it had been so long that it was almost impossible to do. Especially the fact that Zeria's vagina was squeezing my dick that I don't think I was able to last fifteen seconds. _Fuck it._

I couldn't hold out anymore as I relaxed myself and felt my semen exit my dick and enter her vagina, either swimming inward towards her or exiting outward. It didn't really matter to me. Nor her.

Our bodies were drenched with sweat, as looked down at her and couldn't help, but stare at her beauty. Her white hair messy and tangled with other strands or covering part of her face. Her breathing was hard, but I finally was able to look into her glowing, silver eyes.

We stared at each other and our love was now complete. After longing this for a while now, we were happy that we finally had sex. I didn't think I would have ever loved anyone more than I loved Sam, but as I looked into Zeria's eyes. I knew I was wrong and I knew that she was the one. I loved Sam. I always will, but I was meant to be with this vixen. Not her and I knew Sam knew it as well. Her mission is to protect me and make sure I was happy.

"I love you." That angelic voice entered my ears, as I smiled and kissed Zeria softly on her lips.

"I love you too."

I was happy.

**Alright! There you have it. Chapter 7. Tell me what you thought of it and don't forget to give me your opinion on which should be written first. Prequel vs Sequel. Both I promise will be good reading. I'll try and update soon. Thank you. **


	9. Chapter 8

**Alright! Glad to be back everyone with a new chapter and I hope all of you enjoy it. Couple things. One: I have been getting some terrific ideas for my Prequel thanks to SpyketheWolf and Brian McCloud and I look forward to publishing it soon. There are still a few things that I need to do with it. Make sure it's perfect and so on and so forth. I want it to be good reading so all of you have a clear understanding of what had taken place before The Rise. Two: I made a cast list of the voices I would've loved at have if Star Fox had ever made a movie about my stories. May sound silly, but whatever. Check it ou. It's on my profile. Anyway, it's time for you to start reading. Like always, my disclaimer: I don't own StarFox or any of it's characters except for my own. Enjoy!**

Earth had appeared below us no more than an hour ago, but it seemed like only yesterday when we arrived here for our mission against Lector. Things seemed a lot more simpler then than they are now. Mainly because hadn't lost anything that meant the world to him. Peppy, Beltino, the Matchitehew, Excalibur; aka Zlogon Je. Sometimes, Fox still wished that he was still in the state of mind that Krieger was.

As time had flown by since he first the original four that was even before Styx Omega, he couldn't help, but come to notice at how things had gotten to the way they are now. He had to thank Krystal for that because if it weren't for her. He highly doubted that he be the way he is now.

The friends he has also made during these past years really helped him a lot, but there were things he still couldn't understand. First thing that came to mind was Falco and his ultimate betrayal. Someone he thought he could trust his life with. Where did that get him? A one way trip down a ten story building and landing in a dumpster. Kinda ironic in a way. A bird who rose to the top only to come crashing down because he never learned to fly outside an Arwing.

'_Let's see you fly now, you son of a bitch!' _Fox thought to himself with an inside laugh. That was what he had said to the falling falcon before he had heard that loud bang. A deafening sound that would've been painful to hear if you were standing right next to that dumpster.

"_Geo-synchronize orbit completed." _Natasha said over the intercom, which brought Fox out of his state of trance. He looked out of the view screen and noticed all the ships, such as freighters and shuttles exiting and entering Earth's atmosphere. A Wednesday morning to most, but a busy day for those who ran those cargo businesses.

The aging vulpine rose form his chair and grabbed his trench coat that his wife had gotten him before Peppy had told them about the mission against Cain. It was spring down on that planet and he always just felt that he needed to wear that coat to show off his dark self. Especially now that he was thinking of dying his fur black, which really upset Krystal when he told her. She insisted that he go back to his chestnut fur, but he could never go back. That was the mercenary Fox. That Fox was gone.

"Alright team. Let's get going and head down there. Let us go by shuttle because it's more normal. Adrian? You're piloting."

"Well, I figured that, McCloud. I always fly." The arctic wolf commented with an annoyed tone, but no one really noticed because this wolf never showed any emotion outside of anger and annoyance.

"Where's the kid and your kid, pup? They haven't been up here at all."

Fox just looked at Wolf then slowly turned his head to look at Dominic, who was just minding his own business and trying not to pay attention.

"I get where you are going with this."

"I didn't say anything."

"But your face says otherwise."

"Shut up, Wolf."

I laid against the headboard of my bed, looking down at the beautiful sight that rested against my chest. Her soft, silky, silver fur matching perfectly with the bed sheets that wrapped around her naked body. She was a sleeping beauty as she never made a noise louder than a soft exhale. Never snoring and I found that rather adorable.

She slowly began to stir in her sleep, but she didn't wake her up just yet. It was about nine in the morning and I doubt that she was going to wake up anytime soon, unless I woke her up myself, but I just didn't have the heart to.

A blue glow from my right caught my attention and I turned to stare at what could've caused this light. None other than my cell phone and I received a text message from a number only I would recognize. It was Dominic.

'**Morning Jeff. How r u? Time 2 get ur ass up cuz its time for us 2 head out. Meet u in hanger bay in 15.'**

That was the text and I slowly cursed to myself that I had to get up. It made me sad, but last night may have been one of the best nights in my life in the longest of times, but I was still on a mission.

As gently as possible, I began to stroke Zeria's soft, pure white hair and pushed her bangs away from her eyes. At gentle as I was, her eyes slowly began to flutter open as she began to take a quick gaze of where she was. Only to smile when she looked up to see me. "Hey." She said, as she pressed her lips against mine as we engaged in a nice kiss.

"Hey yourself."

"What time is it?"

"Time for us to get up and meet everyone in the hanger bay." I said, as I tried to push the vixen off of me, but she wrapped her arms around me.

"No! Don't get up. Stay here with me."

"As much as I would love that. Would you rather be pulled off me under your power or wait for Fox to show up and drag you off me?" "Knowing him. He would." She said, her ears drooping a little from her sudden sadness. "Alright. Business before pleasure I suppose…What you think of last night?"

"Best night in a long time. You?"

She didn't respond at first, as she got up from her lay down position and took on a seat on my lap and gave me a powerful kiss that expressed how she felt about last night. "I feel fantastic, but I can't help, but feel a little achy. Maybe I'm just hungry. While I get dressed, can you replicate me a muffin?"

"Flavor?"

"Cranberry."

"K." I said, as I gave her one last kiss before she finally lifted herself off of me and ran to the bathroom to take one of the quickest showers ever. Only three minutes and that seemed awfully fast for a girl.

I got dressed in my usual attire after I placed the muffin on a table near the bathroom. Gray t-shirt, black jeans and leather jacket. After I put my brown boots on, all I had to do was wait for Zeria, which I couldn't believe she was out in only eight minutes.

Her hair was a little curly today and she put on a special kind of makeup that helps her fur be glossy in the sun. Wearing camouflage pants and a white tank top, which she covered with her Kevlar vest and her jean jacket.

"Thanks babe for the muffin." She said, as she took a bite into the pastry, if would call muffins a pastry. I don't know. I worked in a grocery store and I don't know if a muffin is considered a pastry.

"Welcome. Come on. Let's go." I said, as I straightened my coat and made my way to the door, Zeria right on my tail as she continued to eat that thing I also always found to be a little dry.

When I arrived in the hanger bay with Zeria, I walked in at the same time my car was vanishing in thin air before it was completely gone. Next, Fox's Escalade was next to drive up onto the teleporter. That dissolved in a matter of seconds as well.

"We're bringing the vehicles with us?"

Ryan, who was the closest to me when he heard me ask the question turned around with a bit of a shock, but welcomed us. "Yeah. Even though we know where we are going. We thought it be best if we bring our cars with us."

"Hmm. Oh well. I guess I'm not going to complain." I replied, as I watched the four members of Sideswipe enter the hanger bay, carrying one duffle bag each. Almost the same kind as mine. Only mine was dark blue compared to their black.

"Be careful with our Suburban. You have no idea how much money has went into that thing."

"Bulletproof?"

"Nothing less."

"And you're afraid of a little scratch?"

"Bill?"

"Yes?"

"Shut the fuck up before I kill you in the plums."

"Plums? What are you British?"

"Little bit. Yes."

"You serious?" "You'll never know."

"Well, if you are. You need more of an accent. Ask Krystal for help. Surprisingly, her Cerinian accent is the exact same of those that are British."

"Can the both of you shut the fuck up and let's get our asses moving? I'm tired of standing around and watching the both of you act like little children."

"Little children? You seem to forget that you are one of the youngest here, kid."

"And I am acting more of a man than you are."

"Not according to….." "Alright! Shut the fuck up already! Anyone speaks again. I'm fucking shooting them!" Fox interrupted, a voice filled to the brim with rage. The three who were just fighting, including me, stop and looked at him.

"Can we get going now?"

"Cooper!"

"Shit. Not again." Ryan muttered to himself, as he took off running to gain cover behind the drop ship.

The Mercury quickly gained speed as it exited the Enterprise's hanger, Adrian piloting the ship he usually does towards their new location; Chicago. No one had ever been to that city, at least not in recent years. It was going to be quite a trip.

Slippy stayed behind once again, controlling the ship in case he had to do some necessary firing from space. As easy as it would be, just wasn't as exciting as going down there personally and come out shooting.

There was only one objective to this mission and that was to destroy the location of where this factory was. This narrowed down the search rather well because there was only one location as of today that houses factory warehouses and that was on Goose Island. There was a big problem though. As of now, there were only eighteen of them and they were going up against over six hundred factory workers. All of which carry a gun or two.

From the looks of the city below, which still was a good sixty miles below them, it looked to be a cloudy day, but from the weather radar that Adrian's ship had, a massive storm was on its way. As rare as it may sound for the people of Chicago, but if a tornado showed up, it'll just be part of the job, I guess.

The weather was the least of anyone's worries because they figured a tornado showing up was highly unlikely. The storm will show, but nothing more.

I sat in my usual spot, Zeria sitting right next to me of course, her eyes fixated on my SAW and the bullets being fed into it. In a situation like this, explosive round bullets were needed. Only way I was able to obtain these round were the help of some certain friends.

Zeria still carried her handgun, switching to a Colt .45 for this particular mission, but that was her backup. First time ever, she used a machinegun on this mission. Not exactly a new weapon, but still is a weapon of choice for some. The M1918 BAR. Only thing I laughed at was the fact that the gun was almost as tall as her.

"It's an accurate weapon. I'm using it because Fox recommended it. Even Hunter did as well. So fuck off."

I laughed at her comment, as I pulled her close to me, pressing my lips against her cheek, which immediately made her giggle.

Adrian's eyes were fixed on the windscreen in front of him, it was a gift bestowed upon him. He had the ability to be so focused that he was able to cancel out everything around him. Miyu once tried to put him to the test by giving him a hand job. Never flinched.

Even now, doing a little striptease right next to him wasn't able to bring him out of his trance. She always found this fun, doing everything possible to break his trance. Sometimes, she even thought about shooting the windscreen, seeing if that would do it. She thought yes because no one could ignore that.

Still, it was her goal to try and break her husband's trance before her last day of life. She made it her goal. Though, right now. She had no intention of doing so right now because as the closer they got to the surface. The more violent the atmosphere got and just wasn't the greatest of days to be bounty hunting.

Even with the most sophisticated equipment in G-Diffuser technology, the Mercury was bouncing all over the place and a few of us; who had weak stomachs, began to get a little nauseas. That included me, Fara, Bill and Matt.

"I can see why you became a marine and then a commander of a battleship, Bill. You don't deal with this kind of flying." Matt said to Bill, as he just uneasily looked over at the collie and snarled.

"Shut the fuck up, Strong. Now is not the time."

"You throw up on my ship, I kill you." Adrian ordered, still keeping his eyes glued to the window in front of him. His voice cause Miyu to jump a little. She wasn't expecting to hear her husband talk until they had landed.

"Deep down guys. Adrian is nauseas as well, but because he's so hooked on what he's doing. He's able to ward off the effects."

"Fuck you, McCloud."

"Just imagine a ship gently rocking back and forth across a rough sea. A storm is brewing as that gentle rocking now becomes more intense as each second passes by."

Fox got a rebuttal and that was Adrian turning around and throwing a backup battery at vulpine's head. Fox ducked as fast as he could and turned around just in time to see the battery crash on the metal floor.

"Jesus, you bastard. Learn to take a joke!"

"Then shut the fuck up and let me land this thing because we are about to enter those clouds in a matter of seconds and my sensors are telling me that this is going to send you through the roof."

"If you are telling me to take a seat. I'm gonna have to refuse like always."

"Then tell me how dusty the ceiling is because I have been meaning to clean up in here." The arctic wolf responded, just four seconds before they entered the thick, heavy clouds above the Windy City.

Just as he predicted, the Mercury jumped upward with enough force to send everyone, who wasn't buckled in, to the ceiling. Fox hadn't predicted this and was literally lifted off his feet and crashed into the top of the ship. Then, shot back down towards the floor, crashing on his stomach.

Everyone stared in amazement as they watched Fox fly and come crashing down in only about three seconds. By the look of things, that looked rather painful. Adrian didn't need to look around, as the sound the vulpine produced put a smile on his face. "I told you. You never listen to me."

Fox finally was able to open his eyes and they were bloodshot red, but his body was filled with anger. "You mother fucker. You cock sucking, bitch-like momma's boy. You fucking did that on purpose!"

"Yes, McCloud. I created this clouds specifically just so I can pull that trick on you. Grow the fuck already!"

"I'm gonna fucking eat you alive!" Fox yelled, getting off the ground and made a quick rush towards Adrian. However, a tall gray wall got in front of him and shoved him the opposite direction.

Again, Fox was on the ground and looked up at the figure in front of him. "You need to chill the fuck down already because you are becoming a real pain in the ass lately. Even more than Ryan and the kid."

"Thanks for that, Wolf." Ryan called out, getting a quick wave from O'Donnell in reply.

"Get the fuck out of my way, Wolf." Fox growled, as he was now being pinned by Wolf, Matt and Bill. Krystal just casually walked up to her husband and placed a hand on his head.

She sighed sadly after what she had felt. "I can feel Krieger more than I usually do. You better calm down, Fox before something is going to happen."

Fox just stared at his wife, deciding to take her advice for now as the ship began to light up a little as they made their way through the clouds. Chicago's Meigs Field was only a few miles away now and closing fast.

"Can you at least land normally for once, Adrian?" "There's a lot of cross winds and the gusts are almost unbearable, but I'll give it a shot." The lupine responded, as his eyes were now searching for the small airfield that was not even a half mile long. Probably not even a quarter. It was an ideal landing zone for today's modern shuttles.

Adrian struggled to keep the ship steady as his altimeter got below one thousand feet and the winds were even worse than they were before. It seemed the lower the ship got, the worst the wind. This was going to be to land in a space.

It became a little bit easier all of a sudden as he looked over to see his wife, Miyu, helping out with the controls. He smirked a little as he looked forward and saw that the distance between them and the ground was less than five hundred.

"Buckle up. I can't guarantee a soft landing. This will bounce."

Everyone, even Fox, got to a seat and buckled in and they looked out the window and watched the tarmac get closer and closer as time went by. It was really rocking and to make matters worse. Some prick decided it would be fun to fly his fighter right past the Mercury.

The engine wash created such a wake that the Mercury was almost perpendicular with the ground. "I'm gonna kill you if I ever find you!" Adrian yelled over the radio, not caring if that pilot heard it or not.

"I know who that was, Adrian. I'll tell you if we ever cross paths."

"Thanks, Krystal." The lupine growled, finally relaxing as his ship touched the ground a couple times before it was now grounded. "Son of a bitch. Why didn't we just teleport?"

"The weather would've made it hard to get a precise transport. This was safer." Bill commented, as he pushed the release of his safety harness.

"Safer my ass."

"Alright. Let's go. I'm gonna puke." I ran towards the ramp, waiting for it to lower at such a slow speed.

Everyone laughed as they watched me scurry off the ship and began to start puking, right in front of a ship register. He had to back away as the rain began to mix and started to spread everywhere. I just looked up and gave him the finger.

"Shut up."

"Have a nice flight?"

"I said shut up." I countered, causing the guy, an armadillo, to laugh quite a bit as I just growled at him. Baring my teeth, but it still didn't stop him from laughing. Everyone began to exit, a few of the members beginning to laugh as well as they saw the mess of the runway I made. These people included, well just about everyone. Even Zeria.

"Alright. Down to business." The armadillo said, trying to stop his laughing and calm himself down. "Welcome to Chicago. This your first time here?"

"Yes it is."

"Alright. I need all of you to sign this and name of the ship and how long you plan to stay."

"Why do you need to know that?"

"If it's a short stay, we don't move your ship, but if you plan to stay like at least four days let's say. We move your ship into our preserved hanger. To allow pilots that don't plan to stay long room to land."

"Alright. Makes sense I guess." Fox said, as he took the shielded clipboard from the armadillo. He started off by signing his name, but left all that ship work to Adrian.

The wolf grabbed the clipboard and wrote down his name, the ship name and the registration number that only he would remember. After a quick discussion, we decided we would stay for maybe three days maximum. Everyone signed their name and Katt, being the last one to sign, handed back to the armadillo.

"Alright. Thank you. Enjoy Chicago. Sad to say they're won't be any baseball games today. Not with this kind of rain."

"This is actually a business trip. No time for fun."

"What exactly is in those duffel bags?"

"Guns." Hunter yelled out, saying it with no emotion at all. He said it as calmly as possible without a care of dealing with security.

The armadillo just stared at the iguana, then looked down at the clipboard and saw that Adrian had written down 'Styx Omega'. "You guys are those bounty hunters from Lylat?"

"That's right."

"Never saw a thing."

"What?"

"Welcome to Chicago, Mr. Smith. Greek Town is a great place to get some gyros."

Everyone just stared at the armadillo, confused at his sudden change of attitude. "Your vehicles are over on the other side of the hanger. Six of them, right?"

"Yeah. An…"

"Escalade, Excursion, Ram, Tahoe, Monte Carlo and a Suburban."

"Yeah."

"Enjoy." He finished, walking away from the group. Leaving them completed bewildered about this conversation. Krystal was probing his mind the whole time and found nothing unusual about his demeanor.

"I guess, let's go." Fox said, beginning to walk away, but couldn't prevent himself from looking backwards and continue to stare at the armadillo.

"We're fucked now, aren't we?" Bill said, shaking his head in disbelief that the mission was already compromised.

"It wouldn't have been if Adrian didn't write down who we were." Wolf said, gaining a glare from Adrian, as the war between the two wolves continued. As always, Fox and Ryan got in the way and shoved them away from each other.

"You guys still don't remember what happened in Detroit, do you?" Fox said, his fangs baring and drool sliding down them. This war was going on for far too long and he had enough of it. "You guys do this again, I am gonna throw both of you out of the hanger of the Enterprise and watch you fly away. So cut it out now!" He yelled, putting his muzzle a mere inch away from Wolf's, then did the same to Adrian.

Both of them just nodded their heads and backed away from each other. Fox just glared at both of them for a few moments longer, then he made his way to his sitting Escalade.

When we arrived at our designated vehicles, the rain had picked up even more than it was even considered possible. Probably a step down from the rain we encountered on Midnight. You would look in the opposite direction of the clouds traveling and you couldn't see any blue sky. It seemed that everyone place we've gone to, we had yet to encounter a nice day. Closest to it was on Accord.

I got in my Chevy and unlocked the door to allow Zeria to enter. We were both soaked when we relaxed on the cloth seats. I turned the key and immediately turned on the heat. Was a cold day outside and being all wet makes it even worse. A miserable Autumn day to be doing this.

"Here. If I recall. I got a couple towels in the back seat." I said, as I tried my best to turn around, to my success. I found a couple warm towels for us to dry ourselves off with.

"Thanks." She smiled sweetly, as she began to wipe the access water that collected on her fur. I did the same, but I couldn't do it for long. I probably had a few seconds before everyone took off towards Goose Island.

"_Alright, everyone. Let's do it, to it. Follow me."_

"_Copy that." _Everyone said almost in unison with one another, as I heard the engines beginning to start up and Fox being to first to exit the parking lot of the small airfield.

"What is the quickest way to this island? Isn't it on the other side of the city?" "_I'm sending the most efficient, but at the same time. The most discreet route towards this island. We will be meeting a block away from the bridge that connects the island. Natalie is sending now. You should be receiving it now."_

I looked at my phone, as the glow caught my attention. I picked up the little device and I indeed had received the directions. "_I got it. Thanks, guys. Everyone on my lead."_

"_Get going, McCloud! Who knows how long we have before our presence is known."_

"_You don't trust that kid do ya, Adrian?"_

"_Not after the treatment he gave us, Bill. Sure it was my fault for writing it down, but no one has ever asked for names."_

"_The arctic is right. I bet he has something to do with that island."_

"_I scanned his mind though, Wolf. I didn't detect anything unusual."_

"_They are making terrific progress with robot technology these days, sweetie."_

"_He could've been bugged without his knowing."_

"_You mean probed, Cooper?"_

"_Yeah, Fox. He could've eaten something or something like that without his knowledge. I don't know, but you got to be creative."_

"_Eating something is a little too creative, Ryan. You should stop reading so many comic books."_

"_I haven't read a comic books in years, Adrian."_

"_You have quite the imagination though, Ryan. Kinda reminds me of Bill in some ways."_

"Electra? Ryan? Everyone? What if our cars have been bugged? I think we should stop talking until we get there."

"_I agree with Jeff. That's pretty smart of him. I just know for a fact that we aren't bugged because we take extra precautions with everything, if you recall."_

"_Dominic is right. I noticed you guys didn't write down your true names."_

"_One of our many aliases. Alright. Turn on the damn radio or something. Begin radio silence."_

"_Copy that."_ Everyone said, again, almost in perfect unison.

I began to flip through the many Chicago radio stations, finally coming to a station that was playing a song you don't hear much these days. I increased the volume and just followed everyone in front of me. (**Note: Woke Up This Morning by Alabama 3)**

I flipped on the wipers at full speed and pulled out of the lot, right behind the Tahoe of Bill and Electra. As we drove along the side roads, approaching Lake Shore Drive, I couldn't stop myself from nodding my head to the rhythm of the song. The kind of Cajun music you don't hear much these days. I even noticed Zeria was bouncing her head to the song.

Fox, Krystal, Wolf and Fara were leading this six vehicle convoy, listening to a more common song, but also known for being a classic. Kinda also fit the theme of what was going on right now. Driving to their location, on their way to fight. **(Note: Hell's Bells by AC/DC)**

The song hadn't started until they had gotten on Michigan Avenue, just as they were passing Millennium Park. The only thing to have remained from human day Chicago. Along with a few other landmarks such as the Sears Tower and so on. Today, it was almost completely redone with Lylatian technology and architecture.

"We are still on the other side of the city, Fox. Our turn towards the island is in about six blocks. It'll be a left turn."

"I know, Wolf." Fox said, as he pulled his revolver and unlocked its cylinder chamber. Using his thumb to give the chamber a quick spin, but it came to the point the was doing it constantly. It was like spinning the chamber was some sort of stress-relief to keep himself occupied while driving. Thinking too much can aggravate a man. _Trust me, I know._

The six blocks later, when we all began to make our turn down the adjacent street, the rain had slowed a little, but it was still quite a downpour. There was a beautiful thing about this rain though. Keeps everyone off the streets and they stay indoors. No one is going to be around that island. They'll all be in work or at home with families.

"_I know what you are thinking, kid, but you got to remember is that there are apartment buildings and condos right next to this island. When they start hearing bullets and explosions. People are gonna start asking questions why."_

"The rain will provide some cover for sound, Fox. Hopefully though, no one will be looking out the window when we attack."

"_Talk in your mind. It's much easier for me to read minds that trying to read the words coming out of someone's mouth when I'm not there. Anyway, with your weapon being loaded with explosive rounds. I doubt it."_

"_We'll see. You just worry about Krystal and I'll worry about Zeria."_

"_You better worry about yourself. You die…..just get through this alive. You need serious help."_

We had arrived at our designated location, one block away from the bridge that will take us across the Chicago River. With a map, provided by the Sideswipe members, we were able to determine that the factory we are told to attack was accessible by North Halsted Street. This gave anyone trying to escape three possible routes to flee. North on Halsted, south on Halsted and North Cherry Avenue. One option, two cars per street. This was simple enough because there was only one way in and out of the factory. Very flawed design.

I sat in my car, watching Fox, Wolf and Dominic stand in the rain, looking through binoculars at the factory at the far end of the island. Look to me that they were trying to figure the best plan of attack.

"I say we just go in there, guns blazing."

"Wolf. That's just stupid."

"Got any better ideas, pup?" "I have to admit. The only thing we can do is just go in there and attack, but not from the front door. We surround the building. Attack from the front and the rear. You and Matt are the snipers, Wolf. You both go in the back. I'll have Jack join you because he's the best with the Barrett."

"I hope you don't plan to have just the three of us together in the back."

"I'll send Natalie and Hunter with you as well. Who do you think would be best to come with you?"

"Well I would definitely love to have Fara with me. I don't know. Maybe Cooper and Fay. Or maybe Bill and Electra."

"I think Bill and Electra are the best choices. We could have them plant some mines to help with the attack. This factory is gonna be going down anyway. I think Zeria would be a huge asset to you."

"I'm having her fight along side the kid and the way I see it. Because of his choice of weaponry and the ammo he has in that thing. He's valuable up front. That gun alone could prevent them from leaving the building." Wolf commented, his hand stroking his wet chin, rain dripping down his face.

"What about you, Dominic? What are you gonna do?"

"Why do you think I brought the Javelin with me?"

"That's a little risky, don't you think?"

"I can have an accurate pinpoint of the most valuable area, if you want. Come on. You guys have the implants. Look around. Where would be the best drop zone?"

Wolf and Fox looked at each other and began to fool around with their implants. Trying to adjust to get the right setting to look inside the building. It didn't take very long to find and when they began to search the area. They both agreed on one place.

"On the left side of the building. Our left. There are vehicles that kinda look like tankers. In that area though is where they make the drugs, like some sort of drug lab. Chemicals and everything you can imagine." Wolf started off, pointing at the one side of the building.

"So you can imagine that a lot of that shit is unstable and explosive, don't cha think?" Fox finished, his lips smirking.

"That sounds pretty good actually. I can do a quick three D calculation to make sure that the rocket lands right on that spot."

"Can it do that?" "Mine can. I'll have to attack from here though. One because it's a clear shot without obstructions. That's the only reason, but when I fire. I'll make a run for it towards the battle field. You know? If we have Bill and Electra drop a few mines right there. My rocket combined with their mines, we could blow up a good portion of that building."

"Shame Cain ain't here, but you are certain this will bring him home."

"Very."

"Alright. Let's start getting into position. Take what you need Dominic and wait in that alley right there. As for us, we will park in locations that will prevent anyone from leaving. This is my Krieger self talking, but I want every last one of those workers killed. Not one will leave this island alive. Get me?" "This truly ain't normal bounty hunter work anymore."

"This is Covert work, Wolf. This is where we thrive."

"What gun you got, Calvin?"

"I'll bring my M Sixteen, the sawed off, plasma rifle and my Rail."

"Can you carry all that without problem?" "You know your wife's staff, Fox? The Cerinian staff you used on Sauria?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"I am able to make the weapons shorter and then they are able to fit in their designated holster. Only weapon I can't shorten is the sawed off and the M Sixteen. Luckily, the sawed off can just holster itself to my leg."

"If you say so. Don't bother with carrying the Javelin. One shot and we'll need you over here."

"Got it."

"Alright. Let's saddle them up." Fox said, as he turned around and whistled for everyone. He gave a quick wave and watched everyone to approach them.

Took a few moments for everyone to approach Fox and the other two, and a few more moments to explain the whole plan that they had come up with. Bill and Electra seemed awfully excited about this because they would be using their stealth-like skills once again.

"We won't let you down, Fox. Bill and I will do our best like always."

"I know you will, Electra. I never expect anything less than a couple marines."

"Yeah, buddy. You shouldn't."

"Alright. Let's head over to our spot. Dominic? See you shortly."

"Yep."

I pulled up behind Fox and his Escalade, as I just sat there. Waiting for the right signal before we got this show on the road. As always, I made sure my SAW was ready to fire, while I watched Zeria get her BAR ready.

I turned my head and watched Bill and Electra already running towards the best place to hop the fence that surrounded the building. It was only a matter of time now.

"Right here. This is the best spot to hop. Do it nice and quiet." Bill ordered his wife, as he carefully and quietly lifted himself so he was able to see over the top of the fence. From the look of things, no one was outside and this gave them a few minutes before they would probably encounter someone on the inside of the building.

"How many mines do you have, Tra?"

"Umm. I think about eleven. Enough to mix nicely with that Javelin." "Alright. Let's go." Bill said, giving the signal; which was a simple hand wave, as they hopped the fence and made their way towards the inside of the building.

"Bill? One more thing."

"What's up, babe?"

"I hate it when you call me Tra. You call me that again and I'm cutting your sex privileges for one month."

Bill nearly choked at the punishment, and was about to argue, but he remembered they were on an important mission right now. He'd argue later. "Just don't drop those mines." "I carry them better than you can."

"Enough. Let's go." Jack said, as he came running up with a small group behind him. Those consisting of himself, Hunter, Natalie, Wolf, Matt, Fara and Katt. Wolf was carrying his plasma sniper rifle, with his duffel bag that contained extra canisters and his RPD. Matt had his Dragunov and only his Dragunov. Hunter and Natalie had their Rails. Leaving Fara and Katt with their plasma machineguns.

A loud crash of thunder silenced the group for a brief moment, their heads shooting upwards towards the sky. The dark, gray sky that slowly began to make a nice tint of green. Bad sign.

"Come on. Hopefully we have nothing to worry about other than the guys inside this building." Bill commented, as he quickly began to run silently across the wet pavement. His feet landing so softly, barely making a sound or even a ripple in the water.

About seventy feet away, there was a scaffolding that would take them up to the second level of this place. Their entrance. However, as they came within sixty feet, a factory worker just happened to walk outside and froze as he watched the small group approach him.

Hunter, being one of the quickest around, lifted his Rail and fired off a quick shot that barely produced a noise. It was so soft, it couldn't be heard over the falling rain. The only way you knew he had fired a shot, was a thin, silver trail from the barrel of his gun, to its target and beyond. The target was the worker's head, but the slug just kept on going.

The worker collapsed to the group, water splashing everywhere as he landed, but their only concern was his shotgun crashing to the ground. Produced a louder sound that Hunter had not predicted, but thanks to the rain and the chaos inside the factory. It had gone unheard.

Katt ran to the gun and collected it into her hands, along with grabbing every shell the worker had on him. She attached the weapon to her holster, while still carrying her automatic.

The group stopped in front of the scaffolding, it being about fifty feet tall. It was gonna be a little bit of a challenge because of the wet metal and the distance between bars. It wasn't going to stop them however.

They just jumped onto the cage-like structure, using their strength to lift themselves up, actually finding it a little bit easier than they had anticipated. Finding it to be much easier as they were on top of the structure in a matter of minutes.

Bill and Wolf were the first to look inside the structure and noticed all the commotion going on. Workers loading up drugs and what looked to be crates of guns inside semi truck trailers. Others working cranes that carried these crates from one side of the factory to the other. It was as they looked at the area on the other side of the warehouse, did they noticed how empty it was. That was the drop zone.

"Alright. You guys stay here, but try and spread yourselves out. Electra and I will make our way over to that drug lab. Watch me because I will only flash this light once. That will give you a countdown of seven seconds, enough time for us to get out of there. You guys will count to three and you will flash your light at Dominic. He will fire and about on the seventh second. That corner of the building will erupt into flames. Any questions?" No one said a word, just shook their heads as Bill and Electra eagerly began to climb down a pyramid of boxes right in front of them. Being as quiet as possible and did their best to stay out of sight. They reached the bottom and things were still going their way.

What Bill hadn't predicted was the fact that two guards were standing right in front of them, their backs towards them. Too easy for the experienced marines.

Both of them unsheathed their combat knives, the black metal remaining dull under the bright light of the factory.

Bill was the first to step forward, his wife separating from him, so she could attack the other guard. He went through his scenarios and tried to figure out which would be the quickest death, along with being the most silent. There were a couple, but he decided he did the one he could do the best.

He walked forward, his breathing getting shallower as he got closer to the worker, still completely unaware of his approaching harbinger of death. Bill now stood right behind him, his free hand ready to make the move.

He looked at his wife, as she was ready as well. He looked forward and quickly grabbed the worker's, a mongoose, muzzle. Clamping it shut as he shoved his combat knife through the heart of the dying mongoose.

Bill slowly turned the knife, twisting it inside the man's heart, trying to quicken his death. All too easy. He carefully lowered him to the ground, his lifeless eyes looking right back at him.

He looked at Electra and grimaced at how she made her kill. Instead of a quick approach, it looked like to she wanted to mess with the guy a little. She choked him, her strong left arm clamped tight around the prime ape's throat, her claws digging in. Blood oozing down her fingers, as she impaled the knife through the rear of his skull, exiting out of his open mouth.

Definitely more painful and took longer to kill, but the same results came. Like Bill, she pulled the knife and carefully lowered him to the ground, his eyes closed.

She bent over and used the guy's shirt to clean her blade, while looking up at her husband with a smile. Bill didn't know to react to that kill, but he still loved her with all his heart. He probably would've done the same if he didn't want to spare the guy the pain.

She took the lead, her feet gliding across the floor, Bill's husky feet doing the exact same. Not a sound was made. This was truly their territory. They don't want to be seen if they choose not to be seen.

They arrived at the drug lab moments later, carefully looking inside to find only one guy in a lab coat, working on mixing the drugs. Carefully and quietly, Bill walked into the lab, Electra being right behind her, he approached the guy from behind. His silenced Colt Forty Five aimed at his head.

"Put it down." He threatened, the worker immediately freezing and doing what he was told. He carefully placed the test-tube into a holder and waited to be tied up. He thought wrong though, the moment he put the tube down, a bullet flew right through his head.

Bill quickly wrapped a hand around his chest, pulling him backwards away from the table. Carefully placing him on the ground, as he began to start placing mines across the area.

Things were going absolutely smoothly for the ex-Marines, Bill finishing first and Electra only having one mine left. Bill hid while he watched his wife finish her work. It would only take her a few seconds to place and arm the mine. A beep brought a smile to her face. "Hey." Someone said from behind her, a gun pointed at her.

The doberman froze, not bothering to raise her hands above her head, as she knew she could turn around and fire before this punk had any idea what had just happened.

One thing she hadn't predicted, Bill had already fired one shot through the guy's left side temple, but what Bill hadn't predicted was that his wife turned around and fired two shots into the guy's chest shortly after.

The worker fell and knocked over a small table. It was enough to catch some attention. "Shit. Move!" Bill whispered, as he took off running, flashing his light once. Their job was done, time to get the fuck out of their.

Wolf did as he was told, he counted to three and turned to aim his light at the waiting Javelin.

Dominic smiled, the shot just sitting in the tube, just waiting to be fired. All he had to do was push that trigger. "Good bye." He said, while doing so.

The rocket was softly catapulted out of the tube, gliding about six feet before it ignited and launched itself through the air. Flew about seventy feet in the air before it took a severe nosedive towards its instructed coordinates.

The rocket crashed through the roof of the factory, setting off a second later, the seventh second. Just as Bill had instructed. Blowing up that entire corner of the building, killing those who were in the blast radius. Show time.

The explosion rocked the island, waves rippling outward from the tremendous amount of magnitude that escaped the combined power of the two kinds of explosive devices. From the looks of it from the outside, the structural integrity of the warehouse was on the verge of collapse. It was certain that this building would fall by the time we were done here.

I was actually lifted off my feet and collided into the side of my car, along with a few others. Even Fox was pushed backwards about five to ten feet, hadn't been expecting that much power.

I opened my eyes, pain flowing through my back after I had collided with my car, I watched as I saw bodies were thrown a great distance throughout the area, all who were around that blast were either burned alive to being disintegrated.

It wasn't the time to feel sorry for the poor bastards, mainly because they didn't deserve that kind of remorse. They worked for Cain, they deserved death. Even if he were just a normal family man just trying to gain a few dollars to keep up with the bad times.

I rose to my feet, gripping it tightly as I slowly made my way towards the entrance. Fox walked along side me, his hands wrapped around the grips of his revolver and an Uzi nine millimeter. Krystal right beside him, holding her cherished Gatling Gun, its barrel rotating quickly, but still had yet to fire. She was revving it. The whine being produced cancelled out the rain, it ensured devastation.

Adrian and Miyu quickened their pace as they walked parallel with us, allowing room for Zeria to walk along side me, her hands carrying her BAR. She was ready by the look in her eyes. I quickly kissed on her the cheek, which she hadn't expected, but smiled just the same.

"The walls of this building are thin. Open fire." Fox ordered, lifting his Uzi and the bullets were quickly released and began to pierce through the building, killing those who were caught in the path. Using the optic setting of seeing through walls, he carefully aimed his revolver, making precise shots with the workers.

I turned towards Adrian and Miyu, watching their grips around their rifles tighten, squeezing the triggers of their M4 Grenadiers, the grenades being thrown a great distance, breaking through the shattered windows after they broke apart from the explosion. Exploding next to a pile of crates, sending wooden splinters everywhere.

Krystal finally just squeezed the trigger, rounds escaping the rotating barrel not even a second later. The plasma began to eat away the walls of this building, but still on course of meeting their targets. Being yelled with pain as the plasma zapped them and slowly ate at their fur.

Some would run out of the building, hoping the rain would wash away the burns. I watched them exit, firing off one shot, watching the explosive round impact the worker in the chest, sending him backwards and killing him instantly.

Zeria shot the one's I had missed, firing a barrage at each one that still stood, only to fall a moment later. So far, things were in our favor.

The entrance stood in front of me, workers trying their best to get away from the rounds that were scattering all over the place. I looked up and saw the other group doing an excellent job picking off guys with their sniper rifles.

A bullet flew past my head, which brought me out of my trance, holding down the trigger and watched the round escape my weapon and began to devastate the warehouse. Guys saw the power I bestowed and realized they were no match for such a weapon with this power and accuracy. They were soon later killed by a fifty cal bullet.

Katt busted her battle rifle, getting used to the three round burst that this gun fired. She got the hang of it as time went on. She really missed these days when she fought along side Fox and everyone she knew. She especially loved fighting with her husband.

Something caught her eye as a hand came out of nowhere and knocked her rifle out of her hands. She looked down and saw one of the workers, a ocelot, pulling his weapon to fire at point blank range at Katt's stomach.

Little did the guy know that in these close combat situations, Katt would always being victorious. She used her claws to slice at the guy's wrists and arms, causing him to flinch with pain, just long enough for her to strip him of his gun.

She couldn't keep a good hold on it as it slipped through her hands. She batted the gun away and quickly pulled her shotgun. Pumping it in motion, did she barely took aim and fired a direct shot into the guy's face and chest. His body flew about ten feet in the air, before he finally made his descent, crashing on a crate and bouncing off. Falling on a couple of workers below trying to defend themselves.

Katt just unleashed shell after shell, until she saw the workers fell to the ground, their body's looking like Swiss Cheese. Blood spilled onto the floor, kinda like a gentle stream flowing through a forest.

Matt looked down at the sight below him and couldn't help, but acknowledge Katt for her excellent work. His smile disappeared when a loud noise, unable to describe it, but to him. It sounded like the blowing of a phone line transformer. He looked up to see Natalie using her excellent rifle marksmanship to take out any guy that stood in her crosshairs.

**PING!** Was heard from Wolf as he watched his rifle shutdown, no longer glowing green. He pushed the release and watched the cylinder drop to the floor, rolling away from him as he grabbed another cylinder Fara had handed to him.

He quickly inserted the cylinder and gave it a quick twist to the right. It glowed green, along with the rest of the gun. He carefully placed his eye against the scope and watched a worker trying to take down the snipers. Never felt the plasma slug enter and exit his head in less than half a second.

"How many shots you got left, Matt?" Wolf asked, hearing a magazine being inserted into the custom made Dragunov that was owned by Matt.

"I just finished my second mag. Still have several left."

"Jack! How about you?"

"I'm still on my second. About three rounds left. Then I have ten magazines left."

"Where the fuck are Bill and Electra?"

That was a good question, as they were hiding in a dark shadow, just behind several workers who pulling a large bazooka out of a box. They had been stalking this group for a couple minutes now because they expected someone to have a rocket launcher. They were just waiting to see who.

There were four of them, each one thinking they were contributing in some way. Just like before, they snuck up on the two closest to them, their combat knives clinched in their hands.

Electra was the first to strike, her darkened blade still not glistening under the bright florescent lighting, dug deep into the first worker, a zebra's skull. To spook the others, she quickly pulled out the knife and kicked the dead body forward.

The one that was still standing after the body tackled them was a bull, but he didn't live long. Just as he was about to pull his pistol on Electra, a knife slid across his throat. The wound was deep as blood splattered everywhere. Dead on the spot.

Bill smiled at his handy work, watching the bull collapse on the box that housed the bazooka. Though his smile didn't last long as he remembered that there were two left.

The remaining two, that the ex-marines swore looked to be twins, stared at the dead body and the two that stood above them. Both their silenced pistols aimed straight for their heads. "Please. Don't do this. We didn't do anything wrong."

"Wrong." Electra said, as she quickly fired a quick shot at the one who had just spoken. He fell to the ground, leaving the look alike pissing his pants with fear.

"Please. What did we do?" "Nothing." Bill replied, firing his round that killed off the jaguar. He lowered his arm and looked at his wife. "Kinda lied to him, didn't I?"

"Yeah. You kinda did. Shame on you." She smiled, as she kissed him passionately, but sadly to Bill. It only lasted two seconds. "Later tonight."

"Later?"

"Later."

"How about now?" "I said later."

"But it is later."

"Tonight!" "Better."

I stood along side Zeria, as she shot quick bursts, easily mastering the heavy weapon. Her accuracy was definitely a lot like Fox's aim. She truly was his protégé. She was quick to respond to any threat and easily deposed that threat.

My eyes widened with fear as I saw her collapse to the floor. I looked down at saw her hands clinched around her right knee. I looked up and saw the culprit. He was firing a model of a SMG I couldn't identify, but that wasn't the point.

I turned my body and quickly fired off some explosive shots. They had missed him and instead of killing him there. A barrel behind him, whatever flammable substance was inside, set off and the prick flew through the air.

With careful aim, I fired off a long barrage of bullets, each explosion getting bigger by the second as the rounds met their mark. When I finally let go of the trigger, did I see that true damage I had done. The prick was gone and beyond recognizable.

I dropped to my knees and held Zeria in my arms, not having to worry about cover fire because Krystal did a fantastic job covering us with her Gatling Gun. "My God. Look at your knee. I got to get you out of here."

"No. I'm fine. I can get out on my own. You have to stay here."

"No! I'm getting you out."

"Wait! Wait! My knee! It fucking hurts!" She cried, her knee quickly losing blood.

I stared at her and had no choice. I pulled out my sword and cut off some of her jeans and wrapped it tightly around the wound. It would suffice for now. "Come on. I got you. Krystal! Covering fire!" I yelled to her, as she saw the situation I was in with Zeria.

She gasped as she saw the one she treated like a daughter barely able to stand. Her teeth bared and she yelled as she squeezed the trigger. Watching everything getting ripped to shreds from the powerful weapon.

Fox turned around and saw what had happened. He growled with so much anger that instead of just killing someone by shooting him. Did he just charge someone and tackle him to the ground, punching him so hard with his metal arm that his fist broke through the skull.

He nearly gagged as he pulled his hand and saw little bits of brains on his hands. He had no choice anymore. He didn't want anyone else hurt and there were still over five hundred workers left. Time to end it all.

"_Everyone. Full retreat. Slippy! Fire on this location and burn this building to the ground. Give us ninety seconds to get out of harm's way."_

"_Roger that, Fox. Powering up weapons now. Hurry up!"_

Fox just got to his feet and watched as everyone was doing as he was told. They figured he knew what was going to happen and they believed it was the better choice. They all have had their fun for the day and needed to stay alive for another day.

Wolf led his team out the open window of the building, not bothering to climb down the scaffolding.

Dominic had finally made it to the fight when he saw that everyone was leaving. "What's going on?"

"Slippy is going to fire. Get in your truck and off this island!" Fox yelled, as he helped me get Zeria into my car. I didn't bother buckling my seatbelt as I ran quickly around the car and got in the driver's side. Turning the key and quickly shifted into Drive. The car peeled away, spraying water everywhere.

Dominic then turned to his left and saw the other group hoping the fence and quickly making a run towards the cars. He saw a group of workers making a group and began to fire on us. He pulled out his M Sixteen and started to give us enough cover so we could make it into our vehicles and flee.

Thirty seconds were left by the time Dominic got into the Suburban, being driven by Hunter. "Get in!"

He wasted no time, as he almost ripped the door off the truck, trying to get in. Twenty seconds. Hunter pressed down on the gas, the truck quickly accelerating away from the scene and out of harm.

Bullets sprayed the vehicle, but thanks to its bulletproof armoring. Not one bullet made it inside.

Ten seconds. They were closing in on the bridge and noticed that it was starting to rise. Not caring of wrecking the truck, did Hunter drive the truck to its limits. Driving up the increasing slope, noticing it was at about a forty degree angle. "Hang on!"

"Look!" Natalie pointed out, looking up at the sky.

A bright blue torpedo flew almost perpendicular with the ground, impacting the ground at such a high velocity. Another had followed, soon a third. The explosive was enormous, watching half the island sinking to the bottom of the river.

Even the one half of the bridge collapsed, just as the Suburban became airborne. Everyone inside held on, hoping they would land and be able to get off this bridge before this side collapsed.

The explosion continued to expand, now traveling throughout the entire island. It was sure to be gone by the time everything had settled. Chicago would most likely be furious, but if everything went according to plan. There would be no proof that would indicate that Styx Omega had done it.

The Suburban's front wheels finally made contact with the weakening metal bridge, hearing it groan from the sudden increase in weight. It wouldn't last much longer. The bridge was sure to collapse.

Behind them, the explosion miraculously increased in size even more by about five times. This island was being blown from the inside, if there was anyone on this island. They would be dead by now. Luckily, the members of Sideswipe drove off the bridge and slid to a screeching halt just a few meters away from Ryan's Excursion.

They looked back, watching the bridge still lifting high into the air, the sound of complete failure getting louder by the second, until finally. It just snapped. Everything that was needed to keep the bridge lifted broke free and it dropped and continued to drop until it landed into the water.

Everyone got out and watched the destruction unfold. It was absolute inferno now and they couldn't believe what had happened. "I think Slippy used a little too much." Ryan commented, talking into Fox's ear.

Fox just merely nodded, unable to believe that this happened. This was truly a sight to see and it seemed like it just kept on going. "Come on. We got to get Zeria to the Enterprise."

Zeria laid on a medical bed in the bright sickbay, her knee had been wrapped with many layers of gauze, just to get the bleeding to stop. She would get better and would have full use of her knee. I held her close to me, my eyes watering with tears as I held her in my arms. I was so scared about her, but I was able to rest easy when Bill said she would be fine.

Immediately after the last vehicle was teleported into the hanger, did the small crew of the Enterprise exit orbit of the planet Earth and made their journey back to Lylat. Just like before, they were sitting and waiting for it to be their turn to enter the Hype-Worm.

"Alright. When we enter the worm, we will arrive at Lylat in about eight hours. And now. I'm going to take a nap. Come on, babe. I need your company." Adrian said, getting out of his chair.

"I hope you want to do more than just a nap." Miyu responded, a hint of seductiveness in her voice. A tone that easily can get the tough arctic wolf to get aroused by.

Fox just watched them exit the bridge, as he stood by the console, staring at the screen, but nothing really in particular. He was in a lost state of mind. His mind traveling billions of thoughts a second. Things were really getting out of hand and he wanted all of this to stop.

"When Cain is gone, everything will return to normal. I promise you." Fox turned around to meet the voice, it belonging to Dominic.

"I hope so." He started, turning back around to look at the console. "This has gone far enough and it has to stop. It needs to end. Getting close to three weeks and we haven't even talked to our children. We have to end this soon before I'm gonna go insane."

"I'm just glad to be back in action. Thank you for letting us tag along."

"Not exactly the kind of thanks I want to hear right now, but you're welcome." Fox said, confusion filling his voice, as he kinda gave Dominic a weird look.

"I know, a very weird thank you, but oh well. I'm gonna go meet up with my team and grab a bite. You need us. We'll be in the cafeteria…place….thing." Dominic finished as he started to walk towards the nearest turbo lift.

Fox just watched him leave then focused back on the console in front of him. He didn't know what to do. He could feel the mission was coming to an end, but what if it didn't? What if it never end? This concerned him. "You shouldn't worry about it, honey."

Fox quickly turned around, trying to figure who own that heavenly voice, though he already knew. He gazed at his wife and couldn't help, but admire her beauty. She was aging lately because of all the stress. Though, she still didn't look a day over the day he met her.

"I want this to end and go home. I am fucking tired of this and need to get away from this life for a while."

"I know, Fox and I do too. I miss Marcus and Penelope so much. I want them in my arms." She began, her eyes starting to fill with tears. Fox saw this and quickly wrapped her in a hug. "Though we can't just let a murderer get away. We have to bring him down at whatever cost."

"I think we proved that by blowing up half of Chicago." The chestnut vulpine commented, which caused Krystal to giggle a little. "I always loved that giggle. So childish."

"Childish?" She said in shock, as she started to tickle the surprisingly ticklish vulpine. "I'll show you childish." She said, pushing him to the floor, tickling everywhere he was ticklish.

Fox couldn't stop laughing, but after a few seconds of this torture, he managed to turn the tides and he got on top of Krystal, tickling the hell out of her. She laughed and shrieked as she was way more ticklish than Fox and he wasn't about to stop anytime soon.

Krystal continued to laugh and shriek, trying to get her husband off of her, but kinda hard to do when your husband is more metal than bone. She did one thing that she knew would stop him.

She reached for the back of his head and brought him in for a deep, loving kiss. The kiss immediately stopped Fox's rampage and instead of tickling her body. He merely rubbed and stroked her.

She gasped when Fox pulled away and started to kiss her neck, but he noticed something that he wasn't really prepared for. "I'm not wearing any underwear."

Fox just lifted his head and pulled her shirt so he could look down her chest. No bra. He then pulled on the top of her pants and discovered no underwear. "Interesting." He said, getting a wink from his wife.

"Ready room?"

"Ready room."

I sat along side Zeria, as Natalie came in to check on the youngest member of the team. She had grown fond of the silver vixen, probably just because I was in love with her. Natalie always loved me like a brother and she wanted to act like a sister towards her. Mainly because she knew Zeria and I would be together til one of us died.

"How's your knee?"

"I don't know. I can't feel it at all and at the same time. I can't move it because it is completely locked up. I know that is not because of the numbness."

"I'm sure you will be able to walk again."

"I know I will, but I don't want to lose my leg."

"We'll make sure you won't. Though, a shot wound through the leg is no laughing matter. Some things can't be helped."

"You could always end up like Fox." I entered the conversation, which made Zeria to look at me weird.

"I most certainly don't want to end up like Fox."

"It's either feel no pain or hurt like I am. I'm twenty two and I got bad knees. Sometimes, it's too unbearable to walk or even stand and I would have to sit down. Sucks."

"You should exercise them more."

"Too much sprinting is what did it. Pushed my knees past their limit. I suffer now because of it."

"I think you need artificial limbs."

"If it will stop the pain, I'll most certainly do it."

"Okay….this conversation turned interesting. I'm gonna let you go. I'll be back later on and we can chat some more."

"I'd like that, Natalie. Thank you."

The black wolf smiled, as she leaned forward and gave Zeria a hug. Followed by hugging me and kissing me on the cheek. "I miss your black fur sometimes, Jeff."

"Won't be coming back anytime soon." I said, scratching the back of my neck. Not because I was nervous. I had an itch. _Don't believe me? Screw you_.

She nodded and walked out of the room, leaving me alone with Zeria. "You had black fur?"

"I never told you?" I said, as I took a seat next to her. Draping my arm across her shoulder, bringing her close to me.

"No. You never really talked about your past very much. You always tried to avoid that subject lately."

"What do you want to know?"

"Your final year with your parents." She said to me, as I stared at her for a few seconds before I turned away. She thought she hit a hurting subject, but I was just in deep thought.

"Umm. Let's see. For my eighth birthday, they threw me a very small party. A few of my friends at the time, Bill was one of them. This girl I liked at the time, Erin was her name. She came too.

Anyway, it was a nice party. Cake, ice cream, McDonald's." I said, which got Zeria laughing. "They had gotten me a bike for my birthday. That was the bike I used to runaway with when they were taken from me. We went on a trip to the beach that last summer together. They always loved to throw me in the water, but they would laugh at how well I swam for my age. The last morning at the beach, they woke me up before the sunrise and took a photo of me. My hand was underneath the sun, so it looked like I was carrying it in the palm of my hand.

We arrived home and one week later. My dad was killed later that week, when he went to the store to grab a bottle of Gin. A couple felines that were on crack robbed the store and killed all the witnesses. My dad was shot several times. We couldn't have an open coffin." I started to try and end the conversation, but something inside kept me going. Zeria, at this point, was crying for my loss.

"Two weeks later, when my mom was trying to make me feel better. She took me to the park to try and get my mind off my father. When I went back to my mom for a box of juice, some tigers drove by and unleashed their SMGs on the people of the park. A couple people were killed, those including my mother. She wrapped her body around me to protect me from the bullets. If it weren't' for her, I would be dead too."

Zeria was now almost on the verge of a bawl, as she looked upon me. She was surprised at how well I was bottling up my emotions. She wrapped her hands around my left one, looking up at my stoned face. "What were your parents' names?"

"Dave and Char."

"Why were they killed?"

"Cats that were too high on drugs to think properly and having a vendetta against dogs. I ended them. I made sure they paid dearly for what they did."

"Are you gonna tell me that story?" "No. That one is just for me." I concluded, as I looked down and wiped a tear away from the vixen's eyes. I leaned in closer and planted a soft kiss on her lips. Despite them tasting a little salty, it didn't matter to me. "I will never lose you."

"I never want to lose you. I love you."

"I love you too." As I kissed her again, this time a little harder. I pulled her into a hug and we stayed like this for a long time. I had no desire to leave her side.

"Fay's pregnant?" Adrian blurted out, surprised at what Ryan had just told him.

"Yeah. She's already a couple weeks along. She and I are very excited."

"What are you hoping for?"

"A healthy baby."

"Don't care if it's a boy or girl?"

"It doesn't matter to me." Ryan began, taking a quick sip of his Jager. "I did make an agreement with her though. If it is a girl, I quit drinking Jager completely. If it's a boy, I drink one glass a day and no more."

"She trying to get you to quit?" "Afraid so. I have been drinking this shit for a long time. I think it's time for me to give it up."

"If you manage to give it up, I will consider you the better shooter."

"Deal." He and Adrian clanged glasses, before the doors whooshed open. Fox and Wolf walked through the doorway into Ryan's room, both looking like they needed a hard drink.

"Jager anyone?" "Too hard. Get me a tall glass of vodka."

"Neither are hard enough for me. You got Absinthe?" Wolf called out, looking at the bar filled with many different types of liquor.

"Yeah. Near the back towards the right side. Vodka is on the top shelf, right above your head."

Fox looked at the shelf above him and saw many different types of vodkas, but then something caught his eye. Something that would actually fit his need perfectly. Everclear. He looked around for a juice or soda and only saw a bottle of Pepsi. It would have to do.

Wolf just grabbed a pretty big glass and poured it to the top with Absinthe. Everyone in the room just stared at him, unable to believe that he would drink so much liquor, especially a drink like Absinthe.

"You really gonna drink all of that?" Ryan asked, a look of that showed impressiveness on his face towards Wolf.

"I told you that vodka isn't hard enough. I need a real hard drink right now. I am sick and tired of this bullshit mission and I need a drink to relax." He said, as he finished pouring the green liquid into a twenty ounce glass. Immediately taking a huge gulp of the bitter tasting drink. He let out a satisfying sigh when he pulled his mouth away from the glass. "Oh my god, that tastes so good."

"Weirdo." Fox said, he started to drink the Pepsi that was just loaded with Everclear.

"Ryan here has been telling me that Fay is pregnant again."

"Really? How far along?" Wolf said, taking a seat next to the husky.

"Only a couple weeks so I we don't know if it's a boy or girl yet."

"Well, congrats. That's good to hear. Glad to have some good news spreading around." Fox commented, the door whooshing open once again. It was Fay, followed by Bill.

"Hey babe." Ryan got up, heading over for his wife.

"Now Ryan. I told you. It just wouldn't work out between us. I'm still flattered though." Bill laughed, getting an irritated glare from his husky counterpart.

"Go fuck yourself." Ryan countered, as he shoved Bill out of the way and held his wife in his arms. He kissed her softly on her lips, his hand on her belly.

"Well hello to you too, Mr. Cooper. Didn't think you missed me that much."

"You shouldn't think such false things." He replied, kissing her once again. "What are you doing back so soon? I figured you would be hanging with Miyu and Krystal and everyone else."

"You shouldn't think such false things." She giggled, while everyone, excluding Ryan, just stared at each other with cocked eyebrows. "Go fuck yourselves."

"Yeah. They are alike in so many ways." Wolf commented, taking a swig from his drink.

"I'm just here to change, then we are all gonna go visit Zeria. I figured she would like company other than Jeff."

"Don't be so sure about that, but I'm sure she would love to see all of you." Fox said, taking in some of his drink.

"Are her and the kid going at it?" "Not in that term, but they _are_ making out."

"Thanks for sharing. Maybe you should go visit her. Right now." Ryan said, kinda pushing his wife towards the door, which she resisted.

"Nice try."

Three hours had passed since the departure from Earth, the Enterprise was en route for Lylat. Where they hoped that everything will finally end on the planet that started this whole thing. Corneria.

"According to my sources, Cain is heading back to Corneria after he had to cut his business on Titania short. As we speak, he's passing Sector X and should arrive back to Corneria one hour before we arrive. Note that we simply cannot just bombard his home from space. He has anti-space turrets to prevent that." Hunter stated, reading off of his personal laptop.

"So we are just gonna have to do what we did in Chicago. Go down there and take the place down with our own hands."

"Correct. This place however, is a fortress. He has his own personal army and machineguns and even Gauss Cannons that surround his land. Will not be easy."

"So what do you propose?" Fox asked, pacing back and forth in front of everyone, stopping and gave Hunter a serious stare.

"He has an escape route, just in case that everything on the surface has failed. It's his last resort for getting away. A guy I keep in contact with. A guy I would trust my life with. Frank Hall. He's been keeping an eye on this tunnel and has found a way to get inside. There is a swear drain in this tunnel section here." Hunter pointed at the screen, which Fox looked at hard. "We go through the swears and climb into the tunnel. Then we can attack from beneath."

"You make it sound easy."

"It's gonna be extremely rough, but plausible. This is where we will succeed. You see, he has turrets to prevent bombardment, but there is a flaw in his design. Slippy can hack into his systems and bring down those turrets. He can then fire from space and help even the odds."

"If we can bring down his systems, why can't we just shoot at his house?" Wolf asked, not understanding the plan.

"Fail-safe protocol. When the turrets are down, a protective shield is created around the house and the house only. Space bombardment is still not an option, but he can destroy those turrets."

"Slippy? How long do you think you can bring those turrets down?" "I'm gonna have to look into it, Fox. I haven't done any scans, but if Hunter says I can bring them down. I can try to be quick about it."

"How long do you think, Hunter? Knowing Slippy's hacking skills."

"I say he can do it in five minutes, but he has to do it at the right time. Because the fail-safe only lasts about thirty seconds, before everything is back up and remains online. Once it goes down, it can't go down again. So we only have one shot at this."

"Alright. Slippy, I want you to start working on hacking in, but do not break it until we are ready. Because once that system goes back online, that is when we will attack. Got it?"

"Yeah."

"Now Hunter. Who is this Hall? How will we recognize him?"

"He plans to meet us at a beach-side bar called Dos Equis. He's a skunk, wearing a black cowboy. He's the only one in that town that wears a cowboy hat so he will not be hard to miss. He's expecting us."

"Alright. Right now, let's get a little rested up for this mission because when we get there. We will be fighting at night. The sun will be down and darkness will be our home. Wolf and I will be taking the lead because of our implants. In the armory, there are infrared goggles you can wear. What kind of equipment does Cain's army use?"

"Spotlights and sound catchers. Primitive shit. Easily avoidable."

"I was hoping for that. Once we are inside that fortress, we are going to split up. Bill and Electra. More good news for you. You are going stealth again. I'm gonna ask you to take a couple torpedo warheads with you. Note you can probably only carry one each because they are a bit heavy, but one warhead would destroy a house. I want two to ensure complete destruction."

"We should be able to rig it to explode with a remote. Should take us no more than the length of the trip back."

"Good. Get started right now. Everyone else. Grab the most appropriate weapon you think will best suit this battle. There's no telling what is going to happen once we get there. Cain may be notified the moment we arrive. Maybe not. I can't take that chance. Once we dock, we depart. Any questions?" Fox scanned the entire room, everyone was stone silent, but each had a look of determination. He smiled, it made him proud to have such a great team of fighters.

"Good. Hunter? Make a call to your friend. Tell him we arrive in about five hours."

"Roger."

"Slippy? Get to work on the system. Tell me how long it will take to you hack through it when you are done."

"On it." Slippy said, already pushing himself out of his chair and left the room. Hunter right behind him. Everyone else slowly began to follow suit. It was then just Fox and Krystal in the room.

"Come on. Let's go tell the kid."

I held Zeria in my arms, stroking her soft, white hair as she slept against my chest. She looked so peaceful and calm, not once grimacing in pain from her damaged knee. I smiled at her as she slept.

The doors whooshed open and that brought my attention towards Fox and Krystal, walking in quietly as they saw Zeria was asleep. Though, they saw her starting to wake up and they felt bad for disturbing her. "Morning already?" "Not quite. We needed to talk to you both."

"'Bout what?"

"Our battle against Cain and his home."

"Alright. We'll be ready."

"Zeria won't be joining."

"What?" She almost yelled, pushing herself off my chest and just about glared at Fox and Krystal. "What you mean I won't be joining? I'm fucking coming with!"

"You're injured and this mission will upset your knee. This isn't any 'walk in the park' mission, Zeria. A lot of chaos will be happening and you could get even more hurt than you are now. We don't want that to happen."

"I don't care what you think. I am coming with you and you can't fucking stop me."

"Zeria. Think rationally. How do you think Jeff would react if you were hurt, even killed on this mission?" "I was kinda hoping she would be coming on this mission. I don't want to see her worse than she is now though."

"Jeff. You know that I'll be fine if I stay with you."

"I know, but I will be devastated if I saw you get shot again. I don't want to see that."

"So you are siding with them? I thought you would side with me!"

"How do you think you will feel when we arrive?"

"I'll be fine. Trust me when I say this."

"If you can't run when we arrive at Corneria, then I have no choice, but to tie you to this bed and prevent you from leaving this ship."

"You're kidding me."

"Look at my face." I said to her, my eyes glaring back at her. It actually frightened her a bit. "If you can't run, you can't come and that is not a negotiation."

She just stared at me, tears filling her eyes slightly as she looked at me, only to nod in response. "You have to understand that I love you too much. I don't want to see you hurt."

"I know. I love you too." She said, kissing my cheek, giving up on this argument. I just held her close and kissed her ear.

"So it's settled. Thank you for understanding, honey. Fox and I don't want this either, but it's for the best."

"I just wanted to be there when I see Cain get what he deserves. I want him to fall at the hands of Jeff."

"I would rather know you are safe than risk your life for a dangerous mission."

"We all want that, Zeria. I don't like Jeff's deal, but if you can run by the time we get to Corneria. I will allow you to come, but if only you never leave his side."

The argument had ended right there and no one spoke of the situation again. It was done for the moment and Fox and Krystal left Zeria and I alone. Just so I could start talking to her about something I had never thought of before.

Fox and Krystal went their ways and Fox found himself sitting with Matt, as he did some minor touchups on his crossbow. Still his favorite weapon of choice. He would love to bring it down with him in this battle, but he would be at a severe disadvantage. Still. A weapon made to perfection should be taken care of.

"I spoke to Michelle about twenty minutes ago." Matt said out of nowhere, the sudden mentioning of that name caused Fox to choke and spit up his coffee.

"What the fuck? Why on earth would you do that?"

"She at least deserves to know that I'm alive."

"How did she react?" "Well, of course she was like, '_Oh my Lord! Matt! You're alive! I thought you were dead!_' I replied, '_Nope. It was all part of a diversion that played perfectly_.' Response, '_Where are you? I have to see you_!' I said to her, '_Michelle? I heard what you said about Krieger. He told me everything that went on in that bar that night in Detroit. How could you do that to him?' _I could hear her choke a little, but she managed to reply, '_Matt. I'm sorry, but that Krieger was such an asshole and I couldn't stand to be around him. I did it for you and only you. I loved you that much. Now where are you?' 'I'm with Krieger right now. On his ship. I married someone three years ago. I have a son who's almost three.' 'What?' 'I'm sorry, but I have a lot of respect for that vulpine and if you like him. That it would never have worked between us.' _She replies with just one word, '_Shithead.' _Then she hung up."

"Isn't shithead two words or is it one word? Or is it two words with a hyphen in between?"

"I don't think anyone knows. It's just one of those words that you write it the way you like to write it. Anyway, the point of me calling her was to let her know I was still alive. Though, now I think she wishes I were dead."

"She's the one who almost died if you recall. I almost took her head off with a bar chair."

"You mean stool?" "No. I mean chair. It was a chair in a bar. A bar chair."

"Right." He mumbled, as he pulled back the bow of his weapon, carefully placing a bolt in the launch spot and took careful aim at a pile of phone books. Took not even a second for the weapon to fire and the bolt to fly a good thirty feet into the pile of books.

"Impressive at how accurate and powerful that weapon fires. Thing fires faster that most BB guns."

"Just how I wanted it."

"By the way, nice woman's voice. Sounds to me you been practicing before you talked to me."

"Go fuck yourself." Matt replied, only causing his vulpine friend to laugh hysterically.

"Hey you cock juggling thunder cunt! I want my money back!"

"Man. She gave me crabs. What was I suppose to do?"

"I certainly hope you never told Katt that you have crabs."

"I don't have crabs for real, you bastard!"

"But you just said…."

"Never mind what I just said. I don't have crabs. I still have a healthy junk."

"Thanks for sharing." Fox replied, taking a sip of his coffee, but then quickly spit it back into his mug. "I just got an image and never want to see again. Crab boy." "I don't have crabs! I said that because I didn't want to pay her."

"I know. You just had a fetish for Chihuahuas. Woman was like not even five foot."

"Big tits though. That's for sure."

"Just make sure you never tell Katt or I have a feeling you will die for real this time."

"Lips are sealed."

We had about a half hour left before we arrived at Earth and Zeria was already insisting that she get out of bed and see how she would do running. I didn't want her to get up so soon, in fact I didn't want her to get up at all. I didn't want her to come if she was still hurting.

She looked to have gotten out of bed alright, maybe a little wincing as she swung her bad knee over the side of the bed. The moment though she tried to stand, she just about collapsed and I had to run over to her to prevent her from falling.

"I'm sorry, Zeria, but you are not going."

"You said if I can't run. Damnit! I'm going to start running."

"Zeria. It's not worth you being injured. Why can't you just stay behind for this one mission? "Because this is our last mission. Cain will be dead after this. Now had me that metal cast and wrap it around my leg." She yelled at me, her eyes filled with determination.

I turned around and saw what she was pointing at. It was some sort of cast that you wrap around your leg and has a hinge that bends at the knee. It was designed to prevent you from falling and keep everything in place so you could walk normally.

I regretted this, but I did as I was told and wrapped the stupid device around her leg. Even with the hole in her knee, she was standing tall now. Just as she hoped for, if it weren't for this cast. She still be in bed. She immediately started jogging around the room and I watched her intently. I saw no problems and that scared me.

"I wish you wouldn't go."

"Jeff. You made a deal with me. I'm running and I feel good. I'm going with you."

"What if that cast gets damaged? You'll be on the ground again."

"Will you just shut the fuck up already because you can't stop me." "What is with you attitude? This isn't like you." "My attitude is like this because you don't trust me, you asshole."

"No. That's not it. I don't know what it is, but I'll figure it out eventually."

"Yeah, sure you will."

With the same amount of worry towards Zeria as much as me, Fox reluctantly agreed to allow Zeria to come with us. Though he warned me that she better leave my side or he will have my head. I nodded in response.

"Alright, Slippy. Everything set? You ready to break the wall?"

"Just give me the right signal, Fox and I'll have those systems down faster that you can say 'Buttered toast'." "Buttered toast." Wolf said, chuckling to himself as he received an annoyed look from the toad.

"Shut up, Lombardi."

"Hey! Those are fighting words." "Guys? Enough or I am putting you two on timeout. Now Hunter. Your guy ready to meet us?" "He's sitting down as we speak. He expects us within the half hour."

"Good. Alright guys. The end draws near. Let's finish this and go home."

**And there you have it everyone. Chapter 8 is completed. I'll try and update soon. See you next time.**


	10. Chapter 9

**Alright! New chapter has finlly arrived. Sorry it's taken so long because it's kind of hard to write when your mind is just not in it. So i apologize and if the chapter does not meet the same cool reading it usually is. I apologize in advance for that as well, but I hope you still enjoy the chapter. Note: Next chapter for Pokemon is underway and hopefully should update within the week. If all goes according to plan, which it usually doesn't. LOL. As always, Disclaimer: I do not own StarFox or any of its games or characters except my own.**

The shuttle ride down to the planet's surface was all, but eventful. I never saw so many concentrated faces and the silence was very unnerving. Actually, in all honesty. It didn't bother me that much because for a good portion of my life, I have always been quiet. People never liked that about me, but I had no reason to talk so they could go fuck themselves.

When we landed, the weather was absolutely beautiful and everyone was just as happy as they could be for once. Every place we been to, excluding Accord, the weather was dreadful. It was as I looked up at the bright blue sky, I knew today was going to be the day.

As always, as I walked down the loading ramp of the Mercury, my hand was wrapped around the handle of my duffel bag that contained my SAW and it's many belts. This was a mission that was going to be beyond insane so I loaded every imagine type of ammo meant for my SAW. All of which were located in the bag.

"You couldn't ask for a more perfect day. Not even a gust of wind. Cloudless sky." Cooper commented, as he approached Fox from behind, his hand already wrapped around the handle of one of his MP5s. Fox took notice of this.

"Won't last long. What kind of mission would this be if we didn't get any rain?" Fox began, turning his to look at the sky over the vast ocean. "Put away the gun, Cooper. No need for you to have it out yet."

Ryan didn't answer nor did he even give a sigh of protest, he just carefully opened his coat and put his weapon in the left-side holster. Discreetly, he pulled out a flask and took a quick sip of whatever liquid was inside. Katt and Adrian noticed however and could only assume it was Jager.

"The vehicles down here yet?" Jack asked, scanning his surroundings, not really trusting this city of Degapalms Beach. This was a drug lords town. Just like how Miami was Scarface's town.

"Should be in the parking lot. Relax, Jack. When have we ever been sunk up on?" Dominic responded, patting the hyena's shoulder.

"Can't recall. Been a few years." "Exactly my point. Let's just get in the truck and head over to that bar. According to Hunter, it's about fifteen minutes away, as it's located on the other side of town. Where the beach is."

"We'll meet you guys there." Fox said, Krystal, Wolf and Fara tagging along not too far behind him.

Everyone else dispersed once they all arrived at the parking lot, spotting the six different vehicles located across the lot. I opened the trunk and dropped my bag in there and soon waited so Zeria could put her weapon, the same BAR she used during the Chicago mission, along with her new Desert Eagle.

"I could see the concentration in her eyes. They weren't one bit glazed over, but they had the look that told that she meant business. Such a strong woman she is, I'm so much in love with her.

I opened the driver side door and unlocked it as I began to sit inside. By the time I started the engine, I could already see Bill's Tahoe beginning to move. Such a nice truck, that Bill has. Midnight blue, solid steel brush guards and five fog lamps on top of the roof. I've seen pictures of his old Yukon, his Tahoe is definitely a better choice for this work.

Following Bill was Adrian and his Dodge Ram, the big red beast of a Thirty-Five Hundred series. Dually wheels in the back, extended cab, powerful diesel engine under the hood. For many years, I dreamed of owning a truck like that.

I finally pulled the gear shifter into drive, pulling out of my space and got right behind Adrian, just before Ryan and his big white Excursion. I finally small compared to these other trucks and really wasn't one of the fastest either. Probably would be able to keep up with these vehicles just because it was half a ton lighter than anything here.

"_I just talked to my contact. One of Cain's boys is at the restaurant across from the bar. Arrive separately everyone. Don't want to cause an alarm." _Hunter said over the newly installed CB radios that every car had. More convenient in my opinion.

"_Take different routes. Park at least a couple hundred feet apart. Look as inconspicuous as possible and no weapons visible. Side arms only ladies and gentlemen."_ Fox said over the static filled radio, still clear enough to be heard.

"_I guess that means I better leave my SMGs behind, huh?"_

"Cooper? Just keep your jacket closed and no one will be any wiser to you than they are to a bank robber until it's too late."

"_Have you robbed any banks before, kid?"_

"No, Wolf. People I used to work for, the fucking mafia, they did all the time. One of the things they tried to blame me when we started to get unwanted attention. When the Feds were getting wise to us. Bastards thought I was ratting them out. How wrong they were."

"_Mother fucker! Watch where you are driving, you cock-sucking pussy! God damnit. People can't drive in this fucking town. I almost just spun someone because he cut me off."_

"Was this guy driving a Honda, Miyu?" "_Yeah. A freaking Civic. Why you ask?"_

"I always find Honda drivers to be the worst sons of bitches on the road next to guys who drive BMW M3s. Just an observation I've noticed over the years."

"_Hey look at this. This seems like a pretty cool club. It's called Hot Nights."_

I froze, but only seemed to have lasted a moment before I began to snarl and drool started to drip from my fangs. My eyes were turning red as well. I remember. That night. Zeria took notice.

"Bill. You shouldn't have said that."

"_Why? What did I say?"_

"_Hot Nights is the club where Sam overdosed and this whole ordeal began with Jeff." _Krystal answered, feeling the increasing anger throughout my body.

"_I'll fire a Javelin later on. Will that do, Jeff?" "_Yes it would, Dominic. Would help a lot. Only if that person who fires the shot is me."

"_Good enough for me. I'll save a nice powerful rocket just for you."_

Ryan, Fay, Matt and Katt were the first to arrive at the bar located next to the beach. All seemed normal to the four of them, as pedestrians walked past them, some taking notice, but only to smile in their direction. Some women even winked at the two men as they walked past. Fay and Katt didn't take too kindly to those women, but they knew they couldn't cause any attention.

Matt decided now would be the best time to start looking for that contact. If he remembered, this Frank Hall was a skunk and wore a black cowboy hat. Did not take long for him to identify the man. Sat underneath an umbrella, his hat brim pulled over his eyes and looked to be drinking a glass of Tequila.

"There he is. Let's go." Matt said, getting the attention of everyone else in the group.

As they began to walk over to him, they heard a vehicle slowing and coming to a halt across the street, about three hundred feet away. A dark blue Tahoe.

"Frank Hall." Ryan said, as he stood at the table where the skunk was. He slowly lifted his hat above his eyes and took a good look at the four in front of him.

"Do I know you?"

"You may not know us, but we know you."

"On contraire, I know exactly who you are, Mr. Cooper. I just needed time to set up the jammer." The skunk said, as he pulled out a jammer from his pocket and placed it on the table.

"So you are Frank Hall."

"Yes, I'm Frank Hall. Como estas, senors and senores?"

"You speak Spanish?"

"Not a word. I just know those words. So where are the others?" "They are on their way. The people in the Tahoe there are some of the others. They should all arrive within five minutes." "Very good. Tequila for everyone." Frank waved to a nearby waitress, a female bunny, he told them that he was expecting more friends so he wanted a couple bottles of tequila and about eighteen shot glasses. The waitress just stared at him oddly, but when she saw the twenty in his hand, she didn't say anything else.

"You like tequila, huh? I've always been a Jager fan myself."

"I've been told that I have a little Earth-Spanish in me. Delicious in my opinion." He paused for a moment, as he watched the next group approach him. This including Bill and Electra. "Ah. Mr. and Mrs. Grey. Wonderful to see you two again. I ordered us some tequila."

Bill and Electra just strangely stared at the skunk, very eccentric this guy was and seemed awfully friendly, but Hunter did say he would trust his life with this guy. "Nice to see you again too, Frank. Been a while."

Frank gave Electra a firm handshake, but did not pursue into a hug. This guy did have respect for the women here.

Ten minutes passed before everyone had finally arrived at the small bar on the beach. After each one of us; excluding Zeria, took a shot a tequila, we went down to business.

"Alright. I have a safe house right above the escape tunnel Cain uses. I've been given access to the sewage center of the building for the day and it leads us right into the tunnel. I've also been given a milk truck. This is the same truck Cain sees comes to his house everyday. He usually sees the same driver, but lately. That driver has been at home with his wife. Wife's name is Linda. Driver's name is Joe Dobbs. No kids."

"Wife sick?"

"Yes. She has flu and has been out for about four days. Lately, she has been getting better and should be out of bed and back to normal by the end of the week. Cain is good friends with the driver so he will expect an update about the wife."

"So what about this truck?"

"I've come to the decision by the information that Hunter here has been telling me and I think that Natalie should be the driver. A team of six will be in the back of the truck. After she's about to leave after delivery, you guys will begin firing towards the right side of the truck, towards the house."

"Won't they do an check of the truck, since their normal driver isn't there?"

"Joe has talked to Cain before and has told them that everybody who replaces him are very trustworthy and have no reason to be suspicious. He's been out of work a total of fourteen times and they never check the sub-drivers. Next delivery won't make a difference."

"Alright. Sounds pretty easy right now."

"When the team in front takes down the guards, one of you must open the gate and the rest of you will enter the fight through the front gate. I want the Sideswipes to go through the tunnel with the help of Bill and Electra. The rest of you will enter through the front gate. Now, this is the biggest key of all. As soon as the delivery is finished, Mr. Toad must shutdown the systems and take out those turrets. If all goes according to plan, Cain would be dead in the hour."

"I have a big question about everything you just said." Wolf entered, sounding a bit annoyed. "Deliveries are done at sunrise. Hunter told us we be doing this fight at night. When it's pitch black out."

"You are. Cain orders and receives deliveries at night and I bet I also know what Hunter had told you and that is you will be doing this silently. Up to the point of the turrets being taken down, it will. No surprises until Miss Cartwright has entered the truck and Slippy's began to fire on the turrets."

"You getting all of this, Slippy?"

"_Yeah, Fox. I'm getting it. No worries, all I have to do is press a button and the systems are down. Natasha's got the fortress on radar and is ready to fire the moment that shield goes down."_

"Alright, good work. As for us, take out the spotlights. Use your infrared, We will be able to see, they can't. Now, the people to protect are Bill and Electra, as they are carrying the warheads. I want one in the tunnel entrance under the house. I want the other in the wine cellar, on the other side of the house. That will destroy everything in the house. Including the house itself."

"The warheads have been rigged with a ten minute timer. Once I start the countdown, it can't be turned off, thanks to Electra here. We need to be out of a range of four hundred yards when those fuckers go off. Underground, we'll be safe at one hundred. Everyone, get in that truck and start driving. Once the timer is down to three, start rushing your ass off."

"Alright. I think we got everything covered here, people. Let's head for the safe house. Where is it?"

"Outskirts of Degapalms Bluffs."

"Alright. That house will not be surrounded by neighbors. There's always like a quarter mile between houses. According to the readings, there's half a mile between houses with Cain's. People's houses will shake, but will not fall. Let's head over and suit up. We leave at about ten this evening. Solar will be below the horizon."

With that, everyone finished up their drinks and paid the waitress for her fine service and we made our way over to the safe house. Everyone was ready.

The milk truck, like Frank said, was ready to be used for this mission. Had been rigged with an unnoticeable that you can see out through, but you can't look in. From the outside, it looked just like part of the truck. More technology, thanks to the Sideswipes.

Underneath my coat, I strapped on a Kevlar vest and wrapped a couple knee pads on. My knees were hurting lately and I needed them to keep me standing. I did my best to hide the pain.

The time was approaching ten in the evening and it was just about pitch black out. So far, everything was going according to plan. About fifteen minutes prior to this point, everyone said farewell to the six people that would be traveling underground. Last minute change, Frank decided he'd be better help if he came along. With Bill and Electra carrying those heavy warheads, they needed a little bit more time. It was better to be early than to be late in Bill's opinion.

The six people that would be in the truck would be Natalie, who was driving, and she be accompanied by Fox, Krystal, Wolf, Fara, Matt and Katt. Adrian, Miyu, Ryan, Fay, Zeria and myself would be waiting on the outside of the gates, ready to enter the moment they opened.

"_How's it going up there, Slippy? Still ready to do your thing_?"

"_Been ready for a long time now, Fox. You just better make sure you are ready to fight."_

"_You got it, friend_." Fox relaxed his mind, trying to prepare himself to get ready to move. They had to leave in about one minute if they were to arrive right on time. If they were a minute late, questions would follow. Natalie knew what she had to do to get there the moment the time turned ten.

Everyone began to dress in their most darkest clothes, Fox for this occasion; to much of Krystal's disapproval, he dyed his fur jet black. He was prepared to make sure that his reputation of Krieger Aurelius remained alive.

Luckily for both Fox and Wolf, they both had sunglasses that prevented the light from their optic implants to be visible. Everyone would be wearing infrared goggles. In the night, darkness was their friend.

"Time to go everyone. Get in the truck." Fox ordered, pulling out his revolver and giving the chamber a quick spin before he inserted it back into its holster.

I watched everyone begin walking towards the truck, their preferred weapon in their hands, except for Natalie, as she was dressed in a milk delivery uniform. I stood next to Zeria, as I looked at her. Still couldn't believe that she was going on this mission, even with her leg in not the best of conditions. I smiled at her say the least.

I looked up at the cloudy night, something caught my attention towards the horizon. It was a flash of lightning and it was coming this way. Just like all the other missions, the weather was bad. Tonight would be no different.

I jumped into the back of the truck and the moment the doors shut, Natalie pressed the gas and the truck began to move down the road. I looked at all the faces of my friends and they all so focused. This was big, we all had to be ready.

"_This is Dominic. We just arrived at the tunnel and making our way towards the breach point. Electra is already setting up the first of the two warheads. She says she'll be done in about one minute."_

"Copy that, Dominic. We are en route towards the house. Should arrive in about ten minutes. Just hang tight and stay hidden until you are given the signal." Fox commanded, as he pulled his walkie-talkie and began to talk into it.

"_Signal gonna be the Enterprise?"_

"Best signal to use."

"_Alright. We'll be ready."_

Fox shutoff his radio for now and just looked across the truck towards his wife. He smiled at her as she reached for his hand, which he gladly accepted. I looked at the two, then my eyes diverted towards Wolf and Fara. I scanned all the couples in the truck and saw how much everyone loved each other. It was after this mission, it would all be over.

A hand began to grasp onto mine, bringing me out of my trance. I looked down at saw a silver paw wrapping its fingers around mine. I looked up and smiled at Zeria. I intertwined my green fingers with hers and I pulled her in for a kiss.

"We are now entering the Bluffs. Estimated time of arrival, seven minutes." Natalie called out, her eyes not once leaving the road.

I looked back at Zeria, just as she was checking out her knee. It still felt pretty loose to her and there were no pains or soreness to it. She was confident that this little injury wasn't going to slow her down.

I turned my head and looked down at my SAW, looking at the type of ammo I put into it. Armor piercing. They fired faster than the explosive rounds, but still slower than regular bullets.

"How long have you had that SAW, kid?" I looked up to meet the eyes of Fara looking at me, her eyes switching between the gun and myself.

"Ever since I was nineteen, when I worked at that power plant. After the accident actually once I finally got out of the hospital."

"You ever going to tell us this story?" "I might talk about it one day. Maybe in a memoir or something. Just so people can learn about my past. Probably be a good idea if you did the same, Fox. I'm sure you've lived an interesting learn."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Two minutes." Natalie called out, just as I looked up and stared through the window. Watching the last house before we finally we in front of Cain's. It was a nice neighborhood. Tall trees in this heavily wooded area. It was literally a forest with houses built within them. Marvelous.

"Alright everyone. Group two, exit the vehicle. Group one, prepare to arrive in thirty seconds afterwards." Natalie said, as she slowed the truck down to a halt.

I exited the vehicle, along with everyone else that was with me. It was a cool night, the wind blowing slightly as the storm approached. It was pitch black out here. I immediately switched on my infrared goggles.

"Watch the sky. Come running after those thirty seconds." Wolf ordered, almost falling out of the truck as it began to move again unexpectedly. He shut the door and all we did now was just wait.

Just like she said, those thirty seconds ticked by and the truck arrived just as soon as it hit ten. Without any questions or stares, the guards let the truck in and she proceeded down the driveway.

Was a beautiful home it was, the gardeners did was wonderful job keeping the plants and flowers trimmed and watered. The house itself was approximately sixteen thousand square feet and only two floors. Kinda had a Greek theme to it, but some locations of the house. Had a Gothic Cathedral theme as well. It was still a well-designed house.

Natalie parked the truck in the small roundabout and parked the truck between the front door and the ten million dollar, marble fountain. With a bright smile, she exited the vehicle, a couple baskets of groceries in her hands. "Good evening."

"Hey. How you doing this evening?" One of the guards, a puma said as he welcomed her.

"I can't complain. Wanna try and get all my deliveries done before the rain."

"Yeah, I hear it's suppose to be a bad one too. Here let me take those. Is that it?" The puma said, as he extended both his arms and pulled the baskets from her hands.

"I got a couple more."

"Here. I'll have someone grab those for you."

"No no. It's fine. It's more than enough that you grabbed those for me. Give me one second." Natalie said, walking casually back towards the truck. Trying her best to not grab unwanted attention.

She came out a moment later, her hands filled with two more baskets of groceries. "Thank you again. Makes my job a lot simpler when people like you help me."

"You are more than welcome. I don't think you've delivered for us before."

"No. My first time. Joe asked me because I needed a favor from him and this is how I can pay him back."

"How is Joe by the way? Hasn't been here lately."

"Here, if you could sign this." Natalie said, as she gave him a clipboard. "He's good. His wife is starting to feel better again. Should be better by the end of the week."

The puma took the clipboard and began to sign it. "That's good to hear. Well, you take care of yourself and be sure to finish up before the rain starts."

"I will. Thank you so much for the help. I appreciate it." She said as she took the clipboard from him and began to walk towards the truck, while a guard walked up and lifted the baskets of groceries.

She took a seat in the truck and inserted the key into the ignition. The engine revved to life and she gave a few revs to try and get the engine warmed up. It was during that time, when the surprise was launched.

Thanks to highly-sophisticated silencers, everyone began to fire their weapons, killing off all the guards that were in front of the house. The bastards didn't see it coming. They fell to the gravel driveway, blood oozing out of the them.

Slippy heard the firing in the background and knew now was the time. Just as he said before, all he had to do was press a button and the hacking would commence. He was true to his word as he watched the power grid of Cain's home drain to almost nothing. The Enterprise now had to do the rest.

With precise accuracy, the Enterprise began to fire its Phaser down on the planet below. It was a spectacular sight to see as Natalie floored the truck away from the home. It didn't take much to destroy those turrets. Probably done in a matter of ten seconds. All Slippy was doing now was evening the odds for us.

All I could see was large orange beams of light coming down from the Heavens, disintegrating everything it touched. Only problem was it couldn't penetrate the fail-safe shield, just like Hunter had said. The are surrounding us was no longer that pretty home we remember, fires were roaring everywhere. It was going to get a lot worse.

Natalie took this time to put on her goggles and aimed her silenced rail rifle. Taking careful aim, she took down the guards that sat between them and the street. Not a sound was produced, not a scream was produced. Just a guy being ripped to shreds in a fraction of a second.

It truly was a gruesome weapon of choice, but Natalie preferred it over anything else. It was quiet and it didn't matter where you shot that gun. It destroyed everything it touched and that being a person, it splattered them.

She ripped off her uniform and stood in her Sideswipe uniform, jumping out of the truck and began to ran towards the front gates. Waiting patiently outside, were the remaining six that included myself. We were told not to be in front of the gate, the risk of being hit by a slug was highly probable.

"What took you so long? My foot is asleep." Adrian commented, trying to make light of the situation. He saw the damage a rail can make and it was not pretty. Disturbing to say the least.

"The guy I think was flirting with me. I know for a fact he would have wanted to see my tits."

"Who doesn't Natalie?" I called out as I past through the gate, my weapon held in my grasp.

"I know you have a crush on me Jeff, but don't ever let Jack know about that."

"He just wishes he can compare to me." I said, laughing a little as well as Natalie. I missed that girl. She has been such a great friend to me, a lot like a mother figure. I haven't thanked her for that.

"Welcome to the party." Fox said to Adrian, pulling out the rotating chamber and giving it a quick spin, before he popped the chamber back into place.

"Glad to be here. Nice to be invited for once." Ryan said, pulling out his SMGs and began to scan his surroundings, looking at all the destruction.

"Good work, Slippy. That evened things out for us."

"_Glad to have helped, Fox. Just like the old days in a way."_

Fox smiled and put away his radio, turning and looked back towards the house. The sight of it made him angry and he knew within those walls. The man that took a lot from him was inside. He charged the home, expecting fierce resistance.

Dominic was the first to exit the tunnel, looking around the garden and found nothing, but chaos. People were dead, fires were brewing and only getting bigger. Everything was going according to plan. For everyone else at least. He decided that he and Hunter would deviate from the tunnel and fought from the surface behind the house. So far, there was no one to fight.

"Come on, Hunter. Thirty seconds are up. We got spotlights everywhere. Take them out and their users."

"With pleasure." The iguana said with a harsh, German accent, as he looked up and saw a spotlight that was rotating right towards them. In about ten seconds, he be in the light.

He waited, his Rail steady right at the light, waiting for the right moment to fire. It was a sure shot, it was all about patience. He squeezed the trigger, the slug flew faster than anything known in Lylat. It exploded right through the light, shattering it in a brilliant light and arc of electricity. The user right behind it, splattered in every which way.

His sound partner next to him turned around and fear grew on his face, but that didn't last very long. A slug, this shot being a little bit louder than Hunter's Rail, pierced the thin skull of the other guard and was pronounced dead before his body could even register no skull. The body followed a microsecond later, exploding from the inside and blood spilled everywhere. That nest was done and messy as fuck.

"Kinda makes you feel sorry for the bastards on the receiving end of these things." Dominic said, as he looked at the nest without turning to look at Hunter.

"Say what you want. They had it coming." The coldness in his voice kinda made Dominic smile, this was how Hunter always acted and this was how he would remain.

"Alright. First warhead is set. Ready for remote detonation." Electra yelled triumphantly, as she handed over her remote to Bill, as he began to make his way out of the chamber they were in.

"Good. That's one down. I've been doing some second-hand checks while we were waiting for my wife. I think it be best if we drop the second warhead in the wine cellar. It's pretty deep underneath the house, but the explosion would cause a huge sinkhole. Every bit of this land would be sucked under." "I like the results. How much further is it away from our original location, the underground movie theater?" Jack asked, looking above ground to find out what it's like up on the surface. Right now, no one was around, but that wouldn't last long."

"It's actually closer, but we have to travel down a set of stairs that evens out the distance. My guess is that no one would be in there because first sign of trouble. They would hit the tunnel. Not the cellar. One of us is gonna have to stay behind and guard this entry. Cain will have to be coming this way."

"I'll stay. Hunter always said I'd die in the midst of battle. Here. Give me the other remote in case of backup."

"Thanks for the confidence, but I understand what you are saying." Bill said, tossing him the remote. "Alright. You got plenty of ammo for that SPAS?"

"I got several boxes. I just hope I can load fast enough. Get going. NOW!" Frank yelled, as he took a knee behind the door, emptying the first box of shells. Filling the weapon to hold the maximum amount of shells before it had to reload.

"Good luck." Jack said, as he took lead, turning his head and Rail in all directions. Electra was right behind her husband, doing the same thing Jack was doing, only with her Marine-issued M-Four Grenadier.

Bill kept low, his pack strapped tightly around him, his hands firmly grasping his G Thirty-six Assault Rifle. Right now, he was the most important person to protect, but he wasn't gonna go down easily. He wouldn't quit until his mission was done.

Stray fire caught Bill's attention as he looked over towards one of the backdoors, four guards were perched themselves just outside those doors. They were firing standard-issued Plasma Machineguns. These guns tend to be on the inaccurate side, but occasionally they would get a straight shot and that would be the end of them.

Electra, having the most effective of the three guns on hand, took a knee and launched a quick grenade shot, impacting in the middle of the four guards. Sending them each in their own direction, their bodies being engulfed in fire.

She quickly reloaded another grenade and now the three of them picked up the pace. They were to be noticed now. It was only a matter of time before everyone would show up.

The front door exploded just ahead of them, five guards being shot away from whatever had blew up that door. It was a fragmentation grenade, tossed by Jack's beloved Natalie.

Coming down the main staircase, a huge group of guards began to form and were ready to fight. In almost perfect sync, Jack and I rose our weapons and began to fire. That's when I finally noticed the difference between each Rail.

Dominic's Rail was built to be completely balanced. The power, accuracy, rate of fire. Hunter's Rail was built for nothing, but power. It lacked in rate of fire, but that increased power and a little bit on the accuracy side as well. Jack's was built for rate of fire. He wanted his to fire just like a assault rifle. It took away in power, but accuracy remained. Finally, Natalie's. Hers was built just like Dominic's, but there was one thing she needed most. Stealth. Each slug she would fire was almost soundless. It took away in range though. Sad to say though that her range was limited to….she still doesn't know.

The guards, now forming to about thirty guards, began to splatter blood everywhere. Truly was disgusting to look at, as the guards exploded from the inside out from Jack's Rail, to being ripped to shreds from my armor-piercing rounds. Arms and limps being shot off, skulls fragmenting. Though, I felt nothing. It was disgusting, yes, but I felt nothing. "COOLING!"

That was Jack's voice. Unlike regular plasma or bullet-firing guns, they needed time to cool. Jack's was always the first to cool because of it's rate of fire. Everyone around began to fire at the staircase, watching wood and blood fly in every direction. It only took another grenade shot from Electra to end it all.

The stairs blew up, the alive men of Cain's were instantly killed and thrown far. A support beam that was near the stairs was instantly ripped in half and the second floor that was held up by that beam instantly fell to the ground.

Thanks to our goggles, our eyes were protected from the dust and debris. Actually, it was then that we didn't even realize that the goggles weren't distorting our vision. I curiously lifted them off my eyes and saw that the house was pitch black.

"It's dark in here. What happened? Who killed the power?" Fox actually wasn't paying much attention to realize this, but as soon as I said that. He already knew the answer. "It was Slippy. He managed to construct a bypass in the system. Everything came back on except the lights. We still have the advantage of darkness."

"Good. According to the blueprinting of this house, the wine cellar is located right behind that door. Fox and Krystal? I need you both to scan the cellar for me, make sure there is no one down there."

"Got it." Fox complied, as he approached the door with Krystal by his side. He immediately began to scan everything around him, but his only response after he stood in front of the door was lifting his revolver. He began to fire quick shot in the center of the door, bullet shots.

He kicked down the door and found one of the guards falling down the stairs, life no longer detected. "Clear. All yours, Bill."

As I scanned the house, looking for anyone to kill, all seemed a little quiet. I suddenly heard a noise, it was kind of faint. Sounded like someone slipping and getting back up. I looked over to my left and saw a dark figure running away from the group. Looked like a canine of some sort. I had no time to react other than take off after him.

"Alright everyone. Let's split up and search the house. I'll get in contact with Dominic and the others and see how they are doing….Anyone know where the kid went?"

Everyone began to search the area and I was nowhere around. Krystal began to search the area with her mind, but something caught her attention. It was directly above them. "I think Cain is above us. No wait. He's moving towards the west side of the house…" She was interrupted by the sound of shotgun fire, coming from her right.

"_I just killed Cain! He went for the tunnel and he never saw me coming!"_

"Frank? I'm picking up Cain right above us. We're in the middle of the house." Krystal countered.

"Wait? I'm detecting him to be on the move, towards the garage…The kid is chasing after him." Fox interrupted, turning his head towards he garage.

"That's not possible. How can there be three Cain's?"

"There's not, Wolf. One is the real one, the other's are decoys, but I can't differ them. They all say they are Cain. What the fuck!"

"_Warhead armed and ticking! Move out! Give the ten minute warning!" _Bill yelled over the radio, catching everyone's attention.

"Everyone move out. I'll try and get the kid, but everyone go to your escape routes."

Everyone froze in place when they heard the sound of tires squealing. First there was a one pair of them, then came another a few moments later. They raced for the front door, or for what used to be the front door and found a Maserati Quattroporte driving down the driveway, being chased by a more nimble Aston Martin Vantage.

All eyes went wide when they saw that I was driving the Vantage. Fox cut his gaze short when he felt a presence coming up from behind them. He quickly turned around, his implant enhancing eight men standing right behind them.

He quickly turned around and aimed with such agility that by the time Cain's men were able to bring up their guns, Fox raised his revolver and fire quick, precision shots. Four had received shots that entered and exited through their heads.

Three of began to choke as their throats filled and were quickly losing blood. Neck shots. Trying to gasp for air, they discarded their weapons and tried to cover the hole. Futile attempt as their life ended quicker than they had hoped for.

The eighth and final guy, he had received two shot wounds. One in both shoulders. The guy fell like a brick, but he was kept alive. There was something different about this fella though.

Fox cautiously approached him, while at the same time giving his revolver a quick spin to reload it. He within about ten feet when he saw that the guy he kept alive looked like Cain. He smiled when he realized that it was over, but then something caught his attention.

He changed the setting of his implant and found something that knew it wasn't over. He sighed when he saw that the eye color was different. Cain had solid brown eyes, this character's were black.

"Shit!" Fox yelled, giving the mastiff look-alike a kick in his ribs, instantly breaking one of two ribs.

Dominic and Hunter took shelter in the middle of a flower garden, sunflowers to be exact. The plants were so tall that they were able to hide within and not be found unless they fired a shot. They had to constantly keep moving around to prevent from being found.

Hunter picked up a sound and found an approaching covered truck approaching them, looking to carry a lot of backup. "Fuck." He muttered in his German accented voice.

He needed to take that vehicle down with one shot and he knew his Rail would never do the job. He began to go through his arsenal he carried with him and the only thing that he had on him that could do the job was his Iguanodon. A gun that fired a highly-intensified shell of nitroglycerin mixed with pure oxygen and hydrogen.

He dropped the Rail and quickly pulled and took careful aim because it took like thirty second to insert a new shell because the mixture was incredibly unstable when he took the shell out of its container or the rifle. In the container, it put the substance into a state of stasis that renders it useless. When it came out, be careful.

When in the rifle, the shell is put into stasis and rendered useless into its fired. The only time Hunter really had to worry about this weapon was reloading. That's why it took thirty seconds.

He waited for the moment that vehicle slid to a stop, that would be the best time to fire. The time came about six seconds later. Instead of a hammer or an electric signal to fire the shell, it fired a highly compressed spring that projected the shell at about twelve hundred feet a second.

The distance between him and the truck was about nine hundred feet away. The shell would kill them before anyone got out of the truck. He was right.

He squeezed the trigger and a loud pop explode from the barrel of the weapon, launching the shell the moderate distance. The first two guys in the back of the truck quickly exited the vehicle, but only made it halfway to the ground when something launched them far into the air.

The truck exploded to a giant ball of flames as twenty plus men were thrown from the vehicle. Dominic quickly brought his attention towards the exploding truck, then brought his attention towards Hunter. "You could've warned me you were using that thing." "No time….." Hunter began to say, but some static began to fill the air, but then came a voice that sounded as clear as day.

"_I just killed Cain. He went for the tunnel and never saw me coming!"_

"_Frank? I'm picking up Cain right above us. We're in the middle of the house_."

"_Wait? I'm detecting him to be on the move, towards the garage…The kid is chasing after him." _There was a moment of silence before a new voice came on the radio.

"_Warhead armed and ticking! Move out! Give the ten minute warning!" _

Both Dominic and Hunter looked at each other gave a nod. They got up from their hiding place and began to make a run for the tunnel. From their current location, they were only about three hundred yards away. They could make it to their hole in about two minutes without interruption. They were in good shape.

There were however some interruptions. Let's just say that Cain's men, the ones that were able to see the jackal and iguana, fired at them to prevent them from leaving.

Both however weren't going to let some amateurs slow them down. Both running in perfect stride with one another, they raised their Rails and opened fire.

Blood and guts splattered everywhere and not even the goggle were able to filter that out. It didn't disgust the members of Sideswipe in any way. The slugs, both power and balanced, penetrated and killed each guard with quickness and brutality.

They both found themselves momentarily stunned when they saw a couple cars driving off into the distance. One being a Maserati and the other an Aston Martin.

"Shit! They got away." Dominic said, watching the cars drive down the driveway and onto the streets.

"There was no firing though. They would've fired if they had a chance. I bet one of them is in chase."

"That could be. Come on. There's the tunnel. Hop in." Dominic ordered, as he did a quick sweep while Hunter jumped through the hole and entered the escape tunnel. The jackal followed a moment later.

Bill and Electra ran up the stairs, finding themselves in front of Fox and everyone else. "Come on. There's no need to fall to the tunnel. Tell Frank to leave without us and we'll ride with you in the truck." "Good enough. Come on. Maybe we can catch up with the kid." Fox ordered, as he hastily walked for the front entrance. Everyone followed suit behind him.

"Frank? This is Bill. Leave without us. We're gonna escape in the truck. You got about nine minutes." "_Roger! I'm sure I'll come in contact with Dominic and Hunter. I'll tell them the situation. See you around."_

Everyone left the home and made their way for the truck. The sky began to brighten and darken constantly. The storm was approaching. "Come on, Natalie. You're driving"

"On it." She complied, as she dug through her pocket for the keys. Found them in her left side hip pocket. She quickly took the lead and sat down in the driver's seat. Everyone following her and took a seat in the back of the truck.

The engine instantly started up and took off down the driveway, dust being kicked up into the air as they made their escape. No one made an attempt to stop them because they didn't even know they left.

My gear shifts were a bit lousy as I never really had driven a stick-shift car before. I have had some experience, but not enough to consider myself good, but I managed to keep going fast enough to keep up with the rocketing Maserati.

The twisty roads of Degapalms Bluffs were an absolute nightmare. Truly was scary driving around on these roads and to make things worse. Watching rain slowly beginning to patter my windshield and watching get worse as each second went by made it more nerve-racking .

I had to hide my fear and set my sights on that sedan. With a quick shift and hard stomp on the accelerator, the V8 gained power and I was able to steadily close the distance between him and I. There was no way I was going to let that car get away from me.

A hard left turn came up and the Maserati had to slow significantly to try and make the turn. I tried a different approach because I had a hard time downshifting and my erratic driving caused the rear end of the car to slide out from underneath me.

I drifted around the corner, but car slid into a tree and ripped off the rear of the car. I almost found myself driving off the road as the car turned towards a steep hill, but I managed to gain control and continue the chase once again.

Another lousy shift caused the transmission to grind and I felt bad for letting such a nice car get abused like this. It was the only thing I saw first and had the keys inside. I didn't have a choice.

With the gears able to lock, I was able to close the distance once again as the roads were now getting more treacherous and slick from the falling rain. The road began to rise and fall violently as I went over hills. I could feel the car lifting off the pavement and catch some air before crashing down on the road once again. Causing sparks to fly from underneath the car.

I finally came up to his right rear fender and began to pound the vehicle in, trying to slow him down or even make him come to a halt. It was proving unsuccessful as he was managing to keep the car straight and also gave me a couple good shots that caused me to lose control a bit. The small, nimble car was proving inferior to the larger, heavier luxury.

My eyes shifted and saw what was coming up ahead, a sharp right turn. That was my only chance to stop him and I could only think of one way of doing so. I let off the throttle and let him gain some distance on me. I quietly said a prayer to myself to keep me safe, but even I knew that was a long shot. I have suffered too much and I was able to walk out of all of them. I knew this could be the end. That didn't seem to bother me.

The turn came and as I predicted, the Maserati had to slow down to make the turn. I stomped on the gas and found the front of my car inside the trunk of the larger sedan, pushing it forward and over the edge of the road.

I must've caught air for a few moments before I finally hit the slope. Both cars began to tumble down the steep grade and began bashing up against trees, parts flying from the car and into the air.

I did my best to keep myself from hitting against the car, but my legs were getting punished by the interior of the car, being crushed by the steering wheel and such. Even my head was getting banged by the door as the car tumbled down the hill. It all ended so suddenly when the car landed on a boulder and ripped the passenger side of the vehicle away.

The car landed on its roof and my body was limp when everything came to a stop. I could feel blood escaping me as my head and stuck between the door and my seat. My arm was sure to be broken as it was jammed between the seat and a rock. My legs, I had no clue. I couldn't feel them. Hell, it felt like I was going to die at any second.

The world shook once more as something landed on top of my car and turned me on my wheels. I looked over and saw that it was the Maserati. The driver inside was unconscious.

I lowered my gaze and found something that I found rather interesting. During the tumble, the top of the gear lever came off and all it was a metal rod sticking out of the floor. My right was impaled, right above the knee. Blood oozing.

I smiled, I did my job and now I could only wait and see what waited for me. My eyes began to feel heavy, I began to prepare myself for meeting my Maker. I just hoped I would be allowed in.

Fox did his best to follow his instincts and his telepathy to my location. Who knows where I could be right now, but Fox was sure he would be able to find me.

Natalie made a sharp left turn and one clue gave away that they were on the right track. There was some damage to that tree, like a car had collided with it. "We're going the right way. Look. There's also the rear bumper of a Aston Martin."

Fox watched as the truck past the large chunk of debris that sat in the middle of the road. This concerned the old vulpine. He could feel my mind, but it was fading badly. He figured they only had a few minutes before….He shook his head. He couldn't think like that. Not with Zeria around.

He turned around and saw his wife holding Zeria close to her, the silver vixen carrying a look that would drive any parent insane with concern. He sighed and had to tear his eyes away from her. He needed to find me and it had to be soon.

In the distance, about maybe a quarter mile, a sharp right turn was approaching, but there was something about it that Natalie and Fox knew that this was where we ended up. The guardrail was not there. It looked like a car went through it. How right they were.

"Hurry up. I'm barely feeling the kid."

"I'm going as fast I can go. This truck wasn't built for speed." She replied, her foot pressed firmly against the floor, the gas pedal underneath. Because of the way this road was built, she couldn't only get the truck going at about a steady fifty mph.

The seconds ticked by and it felt like minutes to them. Natalie was doing everything she could to go faster, but it just wasn't happening. Especially when she had to start backing off the gas. She didn't want to go over the edge too. That's the least of their worries.

The tires slid to a stop after about twenty feet of sliding in the rain. The sudden stop almost caused the truck to turn and flip onto its side. Everyone felt the right rear tires lift off the ground and slam back down.

Fox was the first to exit the halted vehicle and looked up at the raining sky, lightning bolts streaking across the sky and all directions. No thunder present. Not yet.

He took off sprinting towards the edge of the road, finding the damaged hill-side and forest damaged from falling cars. He enhanced his vision and zoomed about eight times its normal vision. That's when he found them.

"Shit. It looks bad. Hurry up." He said, leaping off the edge and braced himself for the rough trip down the hill.

His boots dug into the mud and he face planted into the hill and began to roll down. Zeria not too far behind him, but she took a more gentle approach was able to run down the hill on her feet.

On the way down, a dislodged wheel sat next to a tree, the bearing still attached. If it hadn't been for that tree, that wheel would've landed on the cars below. If anything, it made Zeria pick up her speed. There are consequences with running down a hill too fast though.

The last twenty feet or so, she lost her footing and fell forward and tumbled before landing hard into the shallow creek the cars had landed in. She pushed herself onto her feet, despite feeling a sharp pain to her ribs and her knee, she made her way over to the side of the car.

She found me in the driver's seat, completely unconscious, but it also looked like I wasn't breathing. Fox rushed to the side of the car and began to try and free me from my seatbelt. Who knows if the gas would ignite. Even with all this rain.

He pulled his dagger and sliced the belt successfully and ripped of the driver door. He carefully pulled me out, but noticed some resistance. Zeria cringed in disgust when she saw and that caught Fox's attention. He then sighed in disbelief.

"I got it." Wolf said, as he rushed to the other side of the car and slowly and carefully, lifted my leg off the shifter. Blood gushing out even more now. They quickly wrapped it with my coat, hoping it would be enough to stop the blood. It seemed to be working.

"He's completely unconscious, but I'm sensing he's stable. We still have to get him to the Enterprise." Krystal said, placing her hand on my forehead to get an accurate reading of my heart rate.

"We have to get him on the road. All these trees mixed with this storm will interfere. Wolf, help me get him to the road. Everyone else, grab that imposter and rub the cars clean of any prints."

"You do realize that this was a two hundred foot drop. Look, there's a clearing in those trees over there. Let's just bring him there. I don't want to climb that fucking slope."

"I didn't see that clearing. Let's go." Fox said, as he grabbed me by the wrists and lifted my body, while Wolf grabbed my ankles and did the same. Now both of them carried my body and walked me over about fifty feet.

Everyone else did there best to pry open the door of the Maserati and pulled Cain out of the car, or so everyone thought he was Cain. Just like the others, he was led to believe he was Cain, but he wasn't. Same thing, his eye color was different.

Fox gently lowered my upper half onto the ground while Wolf just decided it be best to just drop me. With a loud thud, Fox glared an annoyed look at the lupine, while he just shrugged his shoulders.

"Slippy. Get ready for immediate transport. Right to the sickbay." "_Roger, Fox. Tell me when you are ready."_

"On my…" Fox was caught off by the sound that disturbed the entire night. In the distance, was an ominous orange glow that got brighter and hotter by the second. It was the warheads and they just detonated. A sense of victory filled the air around the group, but they knew it wasn't over. Cain was still alive.

"_Fox, I am reading complete destruction. Cain's fortress is no more. Mission accomplished. Did you kill Cain?"_

"Negative. That's a negative. Transport now."

Everyone found themselves situated in the observation lounge right behind the bridge, most had their faces buried in their hands out of severe frustration. All that hard work with destroying Cain's fortress and it turned out he wasn't even there.

Fox stared at the Sideswipe members, his eyes glaring at them, but they just responded with a smile. "How the fuck can you be smiling at a time like this? You said he was going to be there and he wasn't!"

Dominic just continued to smile back as he rose his hand to the now standing Hunter, who did not take being called a liar lightly. His iguana eyes piercing through Fox, while he kept his eyes fixed on Dominic. "He was there, but not the real one."

"You think that makes it all better? What the fuck do we do now? We got no leads!"

"We know exactly where he is. We knew exactly where he was going after his factory in Chicago was destroyed. We have taken out his house and now we only have one place for us to take out before it all comes to an end."

"And where the fuck is that?"

"His corporate headquarters, Phoenix Engineering."

"What? My father's business?" Fara almost yelled, jumping out of her chair. Dominic turned to look at her and took in the look of betrayal she had on her face. She couldn't believe it.

"When your father died, after you turned down to take over the business. He had to go to his number two man. You know him. Charles Schmidtson. He became the boss of the corporation and ran the business to the heavens. However, Charles had a heart attack and was forced to retire. A new guy came in, promised he would run the business like no one could ever dream of. The man's name…..Randall Cain." Dominic paused for a few moments, to allow everyone to catch up and understand the story so far.

"He did run the business like no one could ever dream of, but this business ended up becoming corrupted under his rule. During the forty-six years under his rule, he managed to corrupt a lot of minds throughout Lylat, the Outer Cincos and Earth. His influence became so powerful that when he decided that the human-race had enough saying in this universe. He ordered a galaxy-wide extermination of them. He still thinks that he killed them all, but a small number survived and now wait for the day to have their revenge." He paused again.

"You take down Cain and his business, all of this will be over. You just take down Cain, the business lives and some other corrupt bastard will take over and start all over again. I'm sorry Fara, but this is the only way."

"My father worked so hard to make sure his business survived through the hard times. I hate to destroy it, but I don't see another way." She said, wiping her eyes as tears began to form.

"There will be consequences. You destroy his business and people will retaliate. They will hunt you down. They will find you and kill you and everything you hold dear. So it can stop here and admit defeat. You can press on and kill everything Cain owns and he himself, but run for the rest of your lives. The choice is yours."

The answer scared everyone because how could they run for the rest of their lives, especially with kids. They loved them so much and would do anything to prevent them from getting in trouble. Though, how could they allow a man like Cain continue to live and cause more harm than he already has. Their children would suffer either way.

"There is no other way is there?"

"I'm afraid not, Wolf. Those are the only two choices and no matter how hard you try and cover up your assault. People know that you are after him. So, when he dies. The word will spread and they will come after you. There's no other way around it."

Everyone sat there in silence, trying to figure out what would be the best alternative. It didn't matter to them if they lived, but what was best for their kids? Fox rose from his chair and pulled his revolver from his holster. With a spin of the barrel, he put it back in his holster.


	11. Chapter 10

**I'M BACK AND I BROUGHT A NEW CHAPTER WITH ME! How many of you are excited? Time for you to get ready for some reading and like always. I hope i didn't disappoint anyone. I put a lot of effort and time into my stories and i hope it meets everyone satisfaction. Also, like always, i do not own StarFox nor any of its character except my own. Which include Ryan Cooper, Adrian Wolf, Electra Wilson Grey, Zeria and Jeff Meiners. Along with all of their children excluding Marcus McCloud. Enjoy everyone!**

We arrived in our designated vehicles in the main capitol of Corneria. The night was dark. Rain pattered against the windshield of the Escalade. Fox looked into the rearview mirror and found the rest of the vehicles behind him. Today was the night that would end it all. No matter how hard we tried, Cain would not leave this building. As the building will collapse as well.

Thanks to the reconnaissance of team Sideswipe, we have discovered that there was a generator that produced the power for this building. When breached, it would set off a chain reaction that will destroy the entire city block. Bill and Electra's final stealth mission.

Adrian and Miyu were on standby in the Mercury, waiting for some type of transport Cain would have in attempt to escape.

Everyone else was going through the front doors. I however was unable to make it. I was laying down on a medical bed in sickbay, only Zeria staying with me. I would be alone if it weren't for her, but I didn't like the idea of just sitting around while everyone was out doing something I told myself needed to get done by my hands only.

I sighed as I felt as though I had failed. I wanted Cain dead by me, but I knew that Fox or anyone on the team would get the job done. Cain had killed Peppy and it hurt everyone on the team. Cain had killed Sam, it hurt me like it were him killing me and he was twisting the blade while he was at it.

'Make sure he suffers' I told Fox. 'Make him suffer badly.' He could only nod at my request and he guaranteed this guy wouldn't die without suffering the wrath of Styx Omega. I smiled at the response before I fell asleep. Now here I lie, waiting for results.

Fox looked up at the tall building and guaranteed that Cain knew that we were here. Krystal however was telling him that he wasn't aware of anything. They had the element of surprise.

"Silencers on until the alarms go off. Then remove them. We must travel around the building and climb up the stairs to reach the elevator. I am having Slippy hack inside to make sure that the elevator stops at the very top. If somehow it doesn't, we will fight our way to find Cain. Bill and Electra will be heading downstairs to the generator with Sideswipe. Adrian and Miyu are waiting for us about two miles away in case of aerial support or to take down Cain's escape ship. When the mines are set, we will call for EVAC and call in the Mercury. By the time we flee the building, Cain will be dead. Questions?"

No one raised their hands or tried to say anything. They held a look that could pierce through lead. Even Fara didn't have a look of regret on her face. Fox watched her knuckles turn white from holding her machinegun so hard. She was ready to fight.

"Let's do this the kid, for Sam, for Beltino and for Peppy." The black vulpine said, as he opened the door and exited the vehicle. The rain was definitely a nice touch. He sensed victory after this, but definitely. He made sure that this man never hurt another soul again.

Krystal stood by me and looked at my black fur. She shook her head, but she understood the logic of what I was trying to prove. Dark is the color of evil and I needed to be in complete frame of mind as Krieger in order to finish this mission. She held onto my hand and pulled me close for a kiss.

"No matter what happens tonight. It has been a honor to serve with you and it has been an even bigger honor to be your wife."

"The honor is mine, Krystal. I have regrets for pushing you away from me, but I can't think of any other person right now to fight along side me than you." "Ditto."

A hand landed upon his left shoulder and Fox turned around to look who it was. Expecting to see Wolf, he found Ryan instead. "You've been a prick to me since we first met. Always tried to make me feel like I was the worst person ever by demeaning me. Yet, you are my friend. My best friend. I rather die as your best friend than the fuck up you claim me to be."

"I may push you around, I may demean you and all that. I am glad to know such a great guy like you. You have been a great friend and partner." Fox said, as he pulled Ryan into a hug and patted his back a few times. He returned the favor.

"I think the time has come for us to head forth to change the future for our children. Have them live a bright future." Wolf said, priming his rifle, feeling the heat rise from the weapon as it was now ready to fire.

"We'll be seeing you when this is all over, bud. Electra and I don't expect any one of us to die here. It ain't our time."

"Let's do this for our kids." Fox replied, as he and Wolf took point at the front of the group. Both concealing their rifles, but both their right hands wrapped around the grip of this handguns.

The door swooshed open and everyone walked into the forty-three story tall building. The lobby seemed kinda bland, just the front desk in front of us and a couple plants at each corner. Not even chandeliers lit the building, but just simple ceiling lights.

"Not what I was expecting." Wolf muttered quietly, still loud enough for Fox to hear and nod at his response.

A couple guards behind the desk rose from their chairs and made our way towards us. "I'm sorry, everyone, but don't belong in here. Do you need a phone or something?"

"Something." The both of them responded, while quickly pulling their handguns and firing off a shot before the guards had any time to react. The bodies fell silently to the ground and blood already began to escape through the large holes in their hands.

"They were just waiting for us to make a move. They just weren't expecting us to be so quick." Fox said, as he kicked the body of one of the guards and began to walk towards the left side of the building.

"According to our readouts, the elevator is in the left rear of the building. It's right by the stairs so we will split there." Dominic said, cradling his Rail with his hands.

"I'm feeling a large group in that whole area. They are not aware of our existence yet. Can I try a little something?"

"Does this little something have to do with you coming out from behind the corner and unleashing a large barrage of bullets from the Gatling Gun?" "Yes."

"Go for it."

Krystal smiled and carefully walked to the end of the hallway. She poked her head around the corner and analyzed that maybe twenty guards were just standing around and that didn't include the guards by the elevator. She still felt she was going to win.

She held the weapon in her hands and tip-toed out from behind the corner and took a good stance about two feet from the hall, in case they began to shoot her faster than she anticipated.

She didn't have time to rev the barrel like always, but not wouldn't be a good time for that. With squeeze of the trigger, the Gatling Gun spun to life and fired two seconds later.

The rounds pierced through the guards as blood and limps splattered in every which way. They didn't really have enough time to yell or run before a large number of plasma rounds pierced through them and made a gruesome mess.

One by one, in only a second each, the guards fell and died ever so quickly. Krystal wanted to make sure the hallway for the guards was safe enough for Bill and his team to enter.

She just aimed and continued to fire, as the door was ripped apart and guards who just happened to be by it were instantly killed by Krystal's weapon. Blood already reached her feet by the time she felt everything was clear for the moment. When she looked down and saw the mess, she couldn't help, but feel a little bit sorry. It was they who turned her into the monster she was. If Cain could've just came quietly, no one would be dead.

Three new gun shots brought her back to life and turned around to see three guards rolling down the stairs, hitting the ground in a thump. "Stay focused. I can't lose you too."

The blue vixen turned and saw her husband standing right behind her. "I'm sorry. It's just…."

"I know, but now is not the time…Ditch the silencers!" Fox yelled, a moment before a loud blaring alarm filled the ears of everyone in the building. "You guys. Get moving. Take the keys. Drive them out of here when you are leaving."

"Got it, bud. Good luck."

"You too, Bill." Fox shook his hand, along with everyone else and took off up the stairs.

"Slippy! We reached the elevators. You hacked in?"

"_You got it! Which one are you taking?"_

"We are going for the number two elevator. Wolf is planting a charge in number one. Once we reach the top, we'll blow number two."

"_Alright. I got you. Get in! Enjoy the ride."_

Everyone did as they were told and rode the elevator up to the top. Fara held the detonator in her hand and pushed the button with her thumb. The explosion destroyed the elevator below and shattered the glass of the one everyone was in. "Too soon?" "Too soon." Wolf said, as he looked over the side of the lift and saw the fiery explosion below them. Not a chance they be able to reach them now.

The lift was rising at an incredible rate and they figured they would reach the top floor momentarily. So far, they seemed to be ahead of schedule, but who knows how long that would last. Cain has evaded them this entire mission. Something could be in store for them.

"_Oh shit."_

Words that Fox did not need to hear right now. "What Slippy?"

"_They hacked me. Get ready to fight. You'll be stopping three floors short."_

"You suck, Slippy!" Wolf yelled, as he felt the lift slow down and armed a grenade within his palm. He watched it glow and pulse and chucked it the last moment. Right on target with the fortieth floor, right where a whole bunch of guards were waiting for them.

The explosion brought everyone to their knees as they watched several of the guards fall over the edge and fall the distance between them and the lobby. "Poor bastards." Fara muttered, Fay nodding in agreement.

"_Incoming gunship!"_

"Adrian!"

"_On it!"_

The elevator halted on the fortieth floor and the coast was clear for a moment. Fires brewed in front of them from the grenade Wolf had thrown a moment ago. "Fight with your spouse. We will travel up this stairwell. Wolf and Fara? Follow us. Ryan and Fay. You stay down here and clear the area."

"Got it." Ryan said with sheer confidence, as he took off running down the hall. Fay not too far behind him. They however stopped at the corner and found a good resistance in front of them.

He pulled and primed a grenade and held onto it until it was time to release it. With a hard throw and barrage of bullets coming from his MP5s, the guards were killed in only seconds. "Anyone else want any more?" He yelled, as he took off running down the hall again.

"I think they are going to be okay." Fara said, as she turned to watch Fox already heading up the steel stairwell. She followed right behind her husband.

Ryan stood outside a door, pounding on it with ferocity. Acting like he was trying to get it, but it was part of a plan. "Come on! We got them! Help us get rid of them!"

While this occurred, Fay was on standby, holding her plasma machinegun. Just waiting patiently for the right moment. "_Alright! We're coming!"_

The door flew open and Fay took that time to unleash what she been waiting for. Guards barely had time to react or to at least lift their guns, but they fell backwards and laid lifeless on the floor. Blood drenched the blue carpet.

Something caught the attention of both canines though. They swore they could hear some sort of winding sound, but their questions were answered in about five seconds. "Hide!"

The gunship opened fire and shattered the window that separated it and the canines. A few rounds struck Ryan and he collapsed to the ground in a heap. "Shit! Oh God this hurts!"

Fay held her husband and could only stare and what she saw. Leg, left arm, small chunk of his waist was gone. All the wounds were cauterized, thanks the heat of the gunship's weaponry.

"Just hang in there, sweetie. Adrian will be coming soon."

"I don't know. Oh fuck me. This fucking hurts. Give me some morphine." Ryan struggled to stay focused, but the pain was too much to handle. He didn't know how long he had before he would go into shock.

Fay quickly went through her bag and found a few needles filled with morphine. Quickly injecting him near the wounds, Ryan quickly calmed, but he didn't think he be able to fight anymore.

Adrian flew through the sky and found the gunship just outside the building, looking like it were just sitting there. Waiting for something to pop out. Now would be the perfect time to act.

He squeezed the triggers and the bullets escaped from the barrels of the Mercury's miniguns. The armor was incredibly strong as the Wolf's watched the bullets pelt the ship, but bounce in all directions. "Shit. He's on to us."

Adrian yanked the joystick to the right and quickly tried to get the ship to turn while the gunship was turning in the direction of the Mercury. The plasma rounds pierced easily through the hull of the Mercury and now Adrian and Miyu were in a life-death situation.

With full power on the main engines, the Mercury took off with the gunship not too far behind it. Swerving past skyscrapers, the Mercury was easily able to fly through such a tight airspace, but the gunship wasn't so easy to lose.

"I have no weaponry in the rear and I don't have the Pea to fire!" Adrian yelled in frustration, regretting losing his rocket launcher back on the mission on Midnight.

Adrian kept looking at the radar, hoping that maybe he would see that the ship was no longer behind him. It remained and the longer they waited, the angrier the gunship pilots would get. They vanished though.

Miyu was the first to noticed and she got out of her chair and ran into the passenger area. She froze at what she saw.

_With the Mercury being chased by the gunship, it all seemed lost for Adrian and Miyu. I wasn't going to just sit around and wait for results._

_Zeria and I teleported ourselves into the passenger area of the Mercury, my SAW in my hands. Ready to fire. The moment I materialized, I saw the gunship behind us and I immediately opened fire._

_These rounds were different. Every other bullet, was an explosive round while the others were armor piercing. As each armor piercing round passed through the ship, an explosive round would destroy something within until finally. The entire ship was destroyed and the debris fell to the ground. I collapsed to the floor, feeling incredibly weak now._

_Zeria held onto me, preventing me from falling off the ship. I held onto her, while she kissed my neck and smiled at me. The door behind us swooshed open._

"Hey Miyu. Good to see you."

"How did you get here?"

"Teleported ourselves. Thanks to Slippy. Save your asses now get back to that building and provide support. Cain could be launching his escape ship while we speak.

"What the hell is going on back there?"

"It's Jeff and Zeria. They're here!"

"I'll ask later. We're heading back!" Adrian yelled, as he made a sharp turn back towards the building, which was now about a half mile away.

Miyu ran to me and checked my wounds. By the looks of things, I was in bad shape, but this could have been a look telling me that I was fucking retarded for coming here in the first place. I think the latter choice was probably the one.

"I am fine, Miyu. I know I said I would wait around, but did you honestly think I was gonna?"

"I knew you wouldn't, kid. I was just wondering how long it would take you to get down here. In my opinion, you came at the right time."

"I'm glad we did too. You looked like you were in some deep trouble." Zeria commented, as she helped me to a seat so I could relax. It was horrible at how bad I felt. Actually, the moment I sat down. I vomited everywhere, but thankfully. It was just sucked right out the ship.

"Warn us the next time that happens!" The lynx yelled at me, backing away just in time to dodge all the vomit.

"Zeria. Grab my sword before it goes out the back. I plan to use it when it's time for me to go up against Cain." I said to Zeria, as she quickly ran towards my duffel bag and gave me the sword after she had opened it.

"You are not going in there like this, kid. You're bad enough shape as is. You will not last long if you do."

"Sam would want me to have some part in Cain's death. I plan on it."

"Fine, but we will just deliver you there. We aren't gonna have you jump or anything like that."

"I'm liking where this is going."

"Target of interest approaching fast. Any plans on what you wanna do?"

"Yeah. I got an idea. Rear end the building, right into Cain's office!" I yelled, getting ready to stand up, using my sword as a kickstand to rest against. Without it, I would probably not be able to stand, but thanks to the sword. I probably only had about five minutes before I had to sit down and gather some energy.

"Why the fuck would I do that?"

"So I can fight Cain in hand-to-hand combat."

"You trying to kill yourself, kid? You won't last a second against him!"

"Just fucking do it! Fox will be there to protect me! You'll see!"

"Alright! Just shut the fuck up and watch this!" Adrian yelled with extreme dislike towards me right now. Though, he took this opportunity to at least rack some kills.

He carefully aimed with the top level of the office building and immediately was engaged by guards who thought they could bring down a armored drop ship with assault rifles.

The bullets merely just ricocheted off the hull, not even the cockpit glass was cracking from the nonstop firing. Adrian just smiled with a ferocious grin, as he squeezed the trigger and watched high-impacted shelled escape from the twin miniguns the Mercury was armed with and ripped through the building's top floor.

Guards who tried to gain covered were only wasting the strength they had for about a second before several dozen, if they received the worst of it, hundreds of rounds, ripped their bodies to shreds. Arms and legs being slashed at the joints or even at the thigh or biceps. Their heads getting blown in half as their brains flew away from its protective skulls.

Adrian felt like he didn't want to end firing, but one thing caught is attention. During the firing, he saw a door open and a figure jumped out into the open. It was the sight of a black vulpine. Just as he released the trigger, the vulpine jumped back behind the door and into the safety of the stairwell.

"Sorry about that, McCloud." Adrian said, as he spoke into his radio.

"_Nice shooting. Is that all of them?"_

"All, but Cain."

"_I can still feel him. There's a jump ship approaching though. Take it out before it gets here. You got five minutes."_

"I got to do something first. Meet you in Cain's office."

"_Okay? Roger."_

Fox and Krystal ran their way across the blood-soaked floor. Disassembled bodies laid scattered across the floor. Fox just smiled at the carnage, Krystal, on the other hand, wasn't too thrilled. If she were Kursed, she would just laugh at the sight, but she hadn't bee that woman in years. She felt remorse for these lifeless souls that laid around her.

"Is that his office? Right in between the two elevators?"

"That has to be it. Seems like a place you would put your office. Come on. We're almost there." Fox said, as he hopped over the fallen bodies below him, his feet landing in a pool of blood with each step.

It was incredible though, the entire top floor of this building was gone and how the building hasn't fallen in on itself yet was beyond Fox's knowledge, but as he approached the door. The time came.

He quickly reached for one of the doorknobs and began to turn it, but it didn't move. Locked. He pulled his revolver free from its holster and began to unleash a volley of bullets into the door. Them with one powerful kick from his metal leg, the door flew from its hinges and landed at the foot of Cain's desk.

This was the first time he got to meet the fucker face to face and he found him sitting at his desk. Looking at his computer screen.

"Fox McCloud or should I say Krieger Aurelius? As much as I love the name Fox, I think the name Krieger suits you so much more." Cain said, not bothering to stand up from his seat. "I would say welcome and make yourselves at home, but recently. My home in Degapalms was destroyed. Shame, the house itself cost me three million. Plus an additional two to make sure I had the best security system money could buy."

"I would say you didn't spend enough." Fox replied, matching his tone with Cain's, which seemed to be filled with neither hatred nor rage, but with a tone that was full of respect for the other person.

"I am afraid you are right. Probably could've spent a few more millions. Then maybe, I could've had a system that was more sophisticated than your brilliant computer genius Slippy."

"Slippy is pretty intelligent, I must admit."

"Yes, he certainly is. Oh dear, where are my manners? Please, make yourselves a drink." Cain said, as he pointing his hand in the direction of the bar he had. Not just some mini bar either, but it was a full-size bar.

Fox looked over and took great interest in it, "Thanks. I could use a drink. I appreciate your hospitality before we hull your ass in."

"Well, I just wanted to be a gracious host. I certainly wish though that you didn't tell Adrian to destroy my top floor."

"I actually didn't tell him anything. That was his own doing." Fox paused, as he finished pouring himself a drink. "Mm. Good vodka by the way." He concluded, as he took a sip from his glass. Now filled with Kauffman Luxury Vintage Vodka.

"Thank you. Costs Two hundred and twenty-five dollars a bottle. Known you for being a vodka man lately and so I thought. A man who appreciates a good glass would love this. I had beers in there as well."

"Well, I certainly do appreciate it. Thank you. Here try this, Krystal." Fox said, as he handed his glass to Krystal, as she just skeptically took the glass. She wasn't understanding what was going on, but she went with the flow.

"That is good. Kauffman Luxury?"

"That is correct, Mrs. Krystal McCloud or Kursed Turismo. Kursed….I am sorry, but I just don't like that name so much. I mean I appreciate the background towards it, but it just doesn't fit with your beauty."

"Well, when you were alone at the time. You don't really care what others think, but thank you for the compliment."

"You're quite welcome and I totally couldn't agree with you more. Though, I never lived the life you both had and I am terribly sorry for the tragedies you both endured."

"Well, in life. You encounter a few bumps in the road, but these were more than bumps. They were certainly very mountainous. It worked out in the end. Until you killed the only thing left I considered a father." Fox said, his voice changing to a completely different tone. It was now filled with rage and anger. It was his Krieger voice returning and it sounded as dark as ever and it was enough to send chills through Cain.

"An unfortunate circumstance, I assure you."

"Unfortunate? Is that what you call it?"

"It was never my intention to have him or Beltino, for that matter, to die. It happened though and nothing can change that. If you hadn't been so persistent and just left me alone. All of this could have been avoided."

"That may be true, but it's your corrupted mind that brought us here now."

"Corrupted? How so?"

"You used a multi-billion dollar organization and turned it into a war-bringing enterprise. To top it all off, you use drugs to help corrupt the minds of others as well. Some of whom had died from them."

"Like Samantha Temple."

That name caused Fox to raise his revolver and fire off one shot. He didn't hit Cain though, but instead fired at his computer screen. It split the screen in half and rendered it useless. This actually annoyed Cain quite a bit.

"That screen cost me two thousand dollars. It was custom made which extreme high-definition with built in speakers that were top of the line."

"Sorry. It slipped." he said, letting his arm fall to his side, the revolver still gripped in his hands.

"I understand the anger right now, but what you got to understand is that even if I am gone. There is no stopping this. My organization will live on."

"_That's the last one set, Bill." _Fox heard from his telepathy. Team two had just finished their work and were now on their way up. It was only a matter of time before everything would be over.

"You know, Randall….may I call you Randall?"

"Of course."

"I am amazed at how highly you think of yourself as an immortal. I mean, not everyone lives on forever."

"A very true point there, Mr. Aurelius, but what you fail to understand is that we are not immortals, but it is what we do that makes us live like one. Take you for example. The great Fox McCloud. You live on as a savior to Lylat and you died as one. Until you brought yourself back from the dead, but that's besides the point. The point is that people remembered you as a hero. I'll be remembered as a man with a vision."

"What is this vision then? I am curious to know." Her voice filled with curiosity. "Well, Miss Krystal, my vision is just to create the ultimate empire and I know I have succeeded. You can't go anywhere without my name being heard."

"You can't go anywhere without turning on you too. Some I have managed to save."

"Saving is irrelevant. They will be converted back eventually. Why can't you just accept the universe I am trying to perfect?"

"You are sounding a lot like Lector right now."

"Ah yes. Cyrus Lector. His vision was flawed and got what came to him. Death by the hands of the greatest bounty hunter who ever lived. You met a lot of betrayals along the way."

"Speaking of this vision of yours. Why did it involve the death of the human race?"

"They were a destructive species. Always bringing war and chaos to wherever they go. It's not good for my kind of business. Especially when they were planning to bring it to the Outer Cincos and that is where my business was thriving the most at the time."

"The humans were no different than we are now. Look at you. You bring nothing, but war and chaos. The humans are like us in every way."

"Ah. Speaking like a true naïve dumbass."

"You're stalling."

Cain finally rose from his chair and made his approach towards the bar. "I am just trying to figure out why you just can't understand what I am trying to do."

"Because it's dark."

"You both at one point were shrouded in darkness. You never saw light for years and committed your life to bring death. Even some that didn't deserve to die, were killed from your wrath."

"I made the galaxy a safer place, even if it were with a different tactic." "That's what I am doing. I am making the galaxy a better place with my own tactic."

"You are making this galaxy as corrupt as you are and I will make sure that your days will end here."

"You know that your life will be hell. You will run, you will hide, but not forever. You will die in the end." Cain's tone had finally changed. A tone which sounded very threatening.

"We all gotta die someday, right? I just know that without you, things will slowly start transforming for the better."

"How pathetic you really are, Mr. Aurelius." Cain said, just as he stood face to face with Fox. Everyone hid for cover after what happened next.

The office window exploded as a large ship backed itself in. This ship happened to be the Mercury. Everyone froze as the ship finally came to a halt. It remained like that for a few seconds before the ramp began to lower itself.

I hopped off it, but almost fell to the ground upon landing. Zeria followed suit and helped stand me up, while Adrian put some thrust in moving the ship forward. "Thank you, Adrian!"

"Well well well. If it isn't Jeff Meiners and Zeria. So glad to finally meet you." Cain said, as he came from behind the bar and approached me at a casual pace.

"You have made my life a living hell, you know that, you sadistic fuck-face? I am going to end your life and make sure you suffer."

"Big words from a kid who can barely stand. I know what has happened to you from yesterday and ever since you were eight years old. I am afraid to say that those felines that killed your parents, were under the influence of my drugs. Tragic."

My anger was now coursing through me and I felt strength return to me as I could feel a surge of adrenaline makes its way throughout my body. I dropped my bag and pulled my sword from its quiver and held it out in front of me.

"When the day is done, I will make sure this blade has beheaded you."

"Mr. Meiners, just like what I told Mr. Aurelius here. Your parents' death were unfortunate circumstances."

"That is something you really shouldn't be saying to me right now, you cowardly sonofabitch."

"How am I cowardly?"

"You've been doing nothing, but running from us, you pussy." I retorted, not expecting what came next.

Cain lunged towards me, a sword miraculously appearing from behind his back and clashed it with mine with serious power. I fell to the floor and had a hard time getting back up.

Cain stood over me, his sword an inch away from my face. "I don't take kindly to insults from a brat like yourself."

A gunshot was fired, but the next sound came a shock to myself, but more importantly. Fox. Cain had deflected the bullet with his sword. Fox was left in shock.

"Be careful, Mr. Aurelius. Doing that may end up hurting someone important to you." Cain threatened, pointing the sword now at Zeria. A move that should not have happened.

I took that opportunity and my new found strength and swung the sword and knocked the weapon away from Zeria. She took that moment to hide with her parents while I stood before Cain, ready to fight.

"You honestly think you can beat me?"

"I should be dead already, but something kept me alive. I am gonna live long enough to see your life end."

"Cocky words. I like the confidence. Begin." He said, as he swung the sword and clashed it with mine once again, sparks flying in all directions as the two metal weapons scraped against one another.

I quickly pulled it away and swung lower to try and beat him, but for his age. He was definitely quick and I know I had to work to achieve my goal.

I moved forward and began my offense of unleashing a bunch of swift sword techniques, but Cain managed to block every single one of them. Now it was time for him to take the offensive and he unleashed a series of slashes. One of them, struck my leg. The leg that had the shifter go through it.

I fell to the floor as I cried in pain, blood escaping through my hands as I tried to stop the blood flow. Cain took the moment to deliver a hard kick to my face, knocking me backwards onto my back.

I was stunned and I felt pathetic. Here, I have been training to finally be able to defeat the guy that killed Sam, but here I lie. On my back in pain, that same guy towering over me. Ready to deliver the final blow.

"You were down in thirty seconds. Well, I must credit you for that. I thought you would only last fifteen against me."

"Stop talking and finish me. I failed."

"No. I plan on something more important than kill you now. From what you say, I have killed everyone that you loved. Parents, you beloved Samantha. I think I will take away something more important before I kill you, but this is where I will bring devastation to you. You see. You love Zeria with all your heart, but now I find something amazing to know. Not even she knows and that's what makes this excellent. She's pregnant!"

I froze, as well as everyone else. How could he know? It wasn't that long ago that Zeria and I made love for the first time, but how would he know before us?

"How I find out is not important, but I speak the truth. Not only would I kill the one you love most of all, but I will kill your unborn child as well." "You harm her and I will kill you myself and believe me when I say you cannot survive against me."

"I am afraid you are right, Mr. Aurelius, but that is not going to stop me." Cain continued, as he pulled a pistol and fired a shot at Zeria, hitting her just below the right shoulder. She fell to the ground and Krystal immediately scooped her up in her arms.

"Slippy! Teleport Zeria and I to the sickbay!"

"_On it!" _Slippy said, almost immediately afterwards. The two vanished in thin air.

"You are going to regret that! I told you not to harm her!"

"I don't listen to you." Cain retorted, as he fired off another shot, this heading straight for Fox's face. However, the shot was pointless, not because of Fox's metal face, but because it never reached that far.

Fox held a tight fist, right in front of him, blood dripping through the cracks in his hands. As he lowered his hand and slowly opened it, inside. Was a bullet. It fell to the floor and Fox too the opportunity to deliver a hard punch to Cain's face.

Cain lost his footing and fell backwards, but what came next brought satisfaction. His face went into shock as he mouth dropped. His eyes shifted downwards and saw that a blade had pierced right through his stomach. He looked backwards and saw that the handle was being held by me.

I quickly yanked it out of him, I tried to stand back up as he laid on the floor. His hands covering the freshly made wound. Seemed pointless because he would be dead in minutes.

I towered over him, using my sword as a cane to help keep myself weak-ass self standing. I looked down on him, a smile on my face while he looked at me in disgust.

"You kill me and you die anyway."

"I know, but at least I know that you'll be dead." I said to him, as I lifted my sword and held it firmly in my hands, ready for the final blow.

"I'll see you in hell, Meiners."

"Probably." I countered, as I thrusted the sword towards Cain and delivered the blow. I however, didn't pierce him through the heart, but instead. I pierced my sword through his head. Right in his left eye. I twisted the weapon and pulled it out of him, the tip dripping with blood.

I fell to the floor, the sword falling free from my hands. Fox rushed towards me and held me in his arms. "You're gonna be fine, kid."

"I love her."

"Sam?" "Zeria." I answered weakly, feeling my strength escaping me. "Make sure she names my child after one of my parents and that the baby never grows up like me." I finished, as I closed my eyes.

Fox just placed two fingers on my coronary artery, checking for a pulse. He let out a sigh and quickly called for Adrian and Miyu to come back. "You can tell her that yourself."

The team stood together, as they all watched the lowering of the coffins. People from all over Lylat came to pay their respects to two of the greatest men to ever lived. Fox was taking this the hardest, as he watched the coffin that was meant for Peppy.

The body was lost after the Matchitehew had self-destructed, but a coffin still felt like it was the right thing to do.

People everywhere put an item in there, mainly were flowers or a model of an Arwing. Even young children came up and had placed drawings of Peppy as general or when he was with Star Fox. Fox walked up to the coffin as dropped a CD. A Johnny Cash CD.

"Good bye, Pep. Thank you." He said, when he placed the CD in the coffin. When he walked over to Beltino's, he placed all of his findings on his secret planet. "Beltino will die with you. It will always be yours."

Fox fell to his knees, along with Krystal, Fara and Slippy, as they watched their beloved friends get lowered into the ground. They knew it would be hard for them, but they didn't expect it to be this hard all over again.

"I am so sorry, Lucy." Fox said to Peppy's daughter, as he held her in a tight hug. "He risked his life to save us. He was such a great man." "I know. I'll miss him and I know Jackson will too." She said, as she looked down and saw the tears in her son's eyes.

Fox kneeled in front of the young hare and pulled him in for a hug. "I loved your grandfather like he was my father. Be glad you got to know such a great man."

"I am." Jackson said between sobs, burying his crying face in Fox's shoulder.

Both Wolf and Fara took a knee and collected the grandson in their arms. Fara was crying because like everyone else who had been on Star Fox. They had grown very fond of the hare. Wolf remained strong, but he was filled with a look of sorrow and quilt. A feeling he will never be able to get rid of.

"How are you doing, Zeria?" Krystal questioned the silver vixen, as she held the motionless vixen with tears falling from her eyes.

"It's still hard to imagine that he's gone. I am gonna miss him terribly." Zeria said between sobs, unable to control it. So many losses in so few days, it was devastating to her, but not only her. The entire team.

"He would want you to be strong. He would want all of us to be strong."

Zeria nodded, as she looked up at the falling rain. A drop fell on her nose and that caught her attention. It was a bleak looking sky, but with a day like this. It was to be expected.

"Fox?"

The aging vulpine looked over towards the priest, a hand extending towards the small podium in front of the coffin. "Would you like to say any words?" "I don't think anyone wants to listen to me. Everyone looks to heartbroken as is."

"I know, but these people need some words to help lighten their spirits. I'm sure they would love to hear them from Lylat's favorite citizen."

Fox stood there for a moment, then turned to look at every individual face. Not one eye was dry. He nodded and made his way up to the podium. Water rippled after every step he took. He cleared his throat in the microphone and that caught everyone's attention.

"Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for being here to honor Corneria's two greatest citizens." He paused for a moment, trying to come up with the right words. "Peppy Hare was a true example of how everyone should be. Caring towards others, especially to those he loved. I had known Peppy my entire life and when my father died serving this planet. I couldn't ask for any other person to raise me."

Everyone continued to stare at Fox, as he seemed to be struggling, but he managed to maintain a strong composure. "Peppy has sacrificed a lot in days. A few good examples was when the Aparoids attacked Corneria. When General Pepper had fallen into their hands and we managed to defeat him. Peppy risked his life to ensure that General Pepper would live. The two had always shown a strong friendship and will always relish it, won't you, Fred?"

"I will." General Pepper said, as he held his wife, Antoinette close to him. Tears were falling from his eyes, but he was smiling. He was smiling because during his years of life, he knew three of the greatest people you could ever know. Now, James, Peppy and Beltino were dead, but they will live on through their children.

"Now, the biggest sacrifice I can ever think of is risking your life to save others. Both Beltino and Peppy had done that to save myself, as well as my family. I didn't take his death too well at first. I hurt someone on my team and it nearly killed him. As I look back on it, Peppy would yell at me for doing such a thing. I hope he can forgive me for that." Fox paused again, before continuing.

"Both Peppy and Beltino always found a way to make this planet better. Whether it's Beltino coming up with some new technology that helps makes space travel much easier, to how you can make a fine stew, thanks to him being a great chef. We all will find a way to mourn and honor our beloved friends. As I know stand here before you, I've come to realize that the family that raised me is gone. It breaks my heart that they all had died not from natural causes. Though, I still have them in my memories. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't be the vulpine I am now. They were always there for me. I will always remember both Peppy and Beltino. If it weren't for Beltino, Star Fox would never have existed. If it weren't for Peppy, I wouldn't have taken over the business. Things occur they way they do and I won't ask why. There are thousands of reasons of why this had to happen, but I already know the one answer. They died to protect me. I will not live a day without thinking about them and their sacrifice. I suggest you do the same because that is a true way to honor someone." Fox smiled and chuckled slightly, "Peppy always shared advice when I was in battle or outside of battle. I'll share the words he's always told me every time I was struggling with life. _'Things happen the way they do for a reason. We don't know what those reasons are, but the only thing we can do is make best of the situation provided to us.' _I followed that advice all my life, right next to '_Never give up. Trust your instincts.' _Quote by James McCloud. Everyday I tried to make best of everything that was provided to me. I ask all of you to do the same. Now, as I conclude here. I would like all of you and stand at attention, to honor two of Corneria's greatest minds."

Fox watched the crowd slowly rise to their feet as Fox stood out from behind the podium. Standing as tall as his body would let him, in a loud, ordering yell. "Attention!" Everyone military personal, General Pepper, Styx Omega and Sideswipe, all snapped in perfect unison. The crowd did a awfully great job as well, but weren't as perfect as everyone else.

Everyone however froze because it was at that moment, when everyone stood tall and proud. A small tike made his way next to the graves. A small blue kit, only known as Marcus McCloud, stood exactly between the two sites and copied his father. He snapped to attention.

Fox couldn't believe his eyes, but he couldn't feel anymore proud of his son. He could only see a young version of himself as he watched Marcus stand there. He looked up towards his wife, as she held Penelope in her hands, they shared a smile.

As everyone stood at attention for a good minute, Fox finished by yelling, 'At ease!' the crowd relaxed and Fox approached the sites. "Goodbye. Watch over my parents and take care of yourselves." He then walked over to his son and collected him in his arms. Embracing him in a loving hug. "Thank you, son."

Zeria stood next to Krystal, as her eyes were closed, but tears were escaping. She carefully turned her attention towards the distance. A shadowy figure took a knee and stayed like that. She excused herself and made her way over.

The graves looked a whole lot better now that I pulled the weeds and brushed away the leaves and everything. I took that time to look at the names. 'Davin and Charlene Meiners.' My parents.

I lowered my head and felt myself crying. "I know I said I would visit you often, but my life has been a total wreck since you both left me. I was considering dying my fur back to black, but it proved to be a little difficult. I hope the green isn't a disappointment. It was for a good cause, so I hope I haven't made myself a total disappointment to you. I tried to live my life the best I could, but I don't think it was good enough."

I hesitated as I turned and looked at the funeral service about one hundred yards away, but I saw Zeria coming. I turned back towards the graves, "I've fallen in love. Her name is Zeria. She's the protégé child to Fox McCloud. She also…holds my child. I know you would yell at me, but I hope you forgive me. Thank you for telling me about Uncle Dominic, mom. If it weren't for that, I would never have discovered about Fox and his team. I never would've met Zeria. I hope everything I have done meets your approval and I hope you still look down on me and smile. It's all I ask from you. Thank you for at least giving me a great childhood. You two are great parents and I love you both. Look down and me and protect the family I have now. I'll try and visit more often. It's the least I can do." "Jeff?"

I turned and looked at Zeria, as she stood about ten feet away from me. Rain dripping off her jacket and her bangs wet and covering her eyes. I smiled and pulled her close.

"This is my girl. I know she looks an awful like you, Sam, but she's different from you when it comes to personality. I hope you are happy for me too. All I ask is that all of you be happy for me. Does she meet your approval?" I asked, not really expecting anything, but a weird look from Zeria, but something caught our attention.

The rain had stopped and ray of sunlight surrounded us. Only in our spot though. Nowhere else. The sun vanished a few seconds later and it went back to raining. I looked at Zeria and she could only smile at me.

"I think I do."

She pulled her in close and kissed her soft lips and held her in a tight embrace. "I love you."

"I love you too." She said, as she looked down from the touch of my hand on her belly. It had only been a couple weeks so there wasn't even a bump yet, but within the silver vixen. Was my child. "What are you hoping?" "That he/she doesn't look like me. I rather have a child that looks like their mother and not their freakish father."

"You are not freakish. You are absolutely handsome."

I lowered my head and looked down at the graves. "I miss them terribly. I wish they were here."

"You'll get to see them again one day and when you do. They will welcome you in their arms."

"I hope. I've done a lot of things that I now regret."

"Like what?"

"I've killed too many people."

"Have you ever killed the innocent?"

"Not to my knowledge."

"They're proud of you. You know they do."

"I know. I still can't help, but be bothered by it."

"When you look into the eyes of your child, all those regrets will vanish because they were all to make sure they could lead up to that point."

"I suppose you're right." "She is right, kid."

I turned and saw the group, I know call my family, approaching me. They all smiled at us and I couldn't help, but smile back. "I think it's time for all of us to go home."

"I could use a nap." Fay said, as she placed a hand on her belly, thanks to her newborn.

"I need some Jager." Ryan said, as he held Kristy in his arms, as she was falling asleep.

"I think after a mission we've had. I think we all deserve a shot of Jager." Bill said, wrapping an arm around his wife. Her arms full of their son, Jason.

"I think now is just the right time to go home. We are all in dire need of some alone time. After spending so much time with all of you, if I spent anymore time with that mission. I would start killing you all."

"Like-wise, Adrian. Let's just go home and be a family again." Wolf said, as he held the hand on his son Jericho and made their way towards their parked SUVs.

"Kid? I think you are going to like this home. Much better and roomier than the Enterprise."

"I just want to have a family again."

"You think you are going to tell us about your life? Kinda curious to hear that."

"Maybe one day, Bill. I wanna start living it first."

"I couldn't agree with you more."

Time slowly began to become normal again. The last few months, everyone still couldn't get the mission out of their heads. It was definitely the longest mission they ever been on. Taking close to two months total. However, once we discovered team Sideswipe, that only took less than two weeks.

We bid farewell to the group as they made their way back to Fichina. We gave them a lift on the Enterprise and that's where we split. They said before they left that they will always be around when they are needed again.

-_**Flashback**_

"_Thank you so much, Dom. We couldn't have done this mission without your help."_

"_That's what we are here for, Jeff. We like you too much."_

"_Well, you will always be part of my family. I'll try and visit."_

"_I think it be best if we kept a lowdown for a while. We've made too many appearance. We needed to be forgotten first before we can be seen again."_

"_I'll see you in a couple years then."_

"_Sounds like a plan." Dominic said to me, as he pulled me into a hug, I returned the hug back. "Take good care of your family. Especially take care of Zeria. If it's a boy, name him after me."_

"_I'll see if I can get her to agree with me. If it's a girl, we both agreed that we are going to name her Natalie."_

_Natalie took notice of that and actually began to cry a little bit. "Really?" _

"_You have been nothing more than kind and loving to me. I had to repay you in some way."_

"_Well, I am just so thrilled. Thank you." She said, as she opened her arms wide and I embraced her with a hug. I could hear her sniffs as she cried. _

"_Thank you." I said, as I kissed her cheek and she did the same. "Jack? Hunter? What can I say about you two? You're both awesome."_

"_Well, Jeff. Some of me had to rub off on you. Though, I fear some Hunter's coldness rubbed on you as well."_

"_I wouldn't be here if it weren't for any of you. I don't know if I'll ever be able to repay you for all the things you have done for me, but from the bottom of my heart. I love all you."_

"_You too sensitive, lupine. Wasn't hard on you enough."_

"_Thanks, Hunter. Means a lot." I said jokingly, as I shook his hand. Even after all these years, the damn iguana still won't hug me. Not even when I first arrived. Amazing._

"_I think it's time for you to head back. Once you are out of range of the house, we'll allow access for you to teleport back."_

"_Take care." I concluded, as I made my way through the thick snow. The weather was terrible and the wind was frigid, but this was the Sideswipe way. I learned to understand that and I will always respect it. Still, did it have to be a mile?_

I stood on the balcony that was offered with my room, the sun was out and the weather was beautiful. I watched below, the families all together. Playing in the front garden. It has been six months since I said farewell to Sideswipe and things have been rather great.

I would look down and see Zeria talking with Fay, both of whom were glowing with radiance. Probably for the fact that they were almost seven months pregnant. We found out a couple months ago, three to be exact of what gender our children will be.

Fay, being absolutely thrilled when she told Ryan, that they were going to have a son. After careful consideration and nights thinking, they planned on naming their future son, Danny.

When Zeria was finding out the what our child would be, I wasn't too far away. I was next to her, watching the doctors working the sonogram. As I watched my child sitting in the womb of Zeria, a normal heartbeat and from what the doctor could see, ten toes and ten fingers. I began to cry. It was beautiful to see.

"She's a girl." The doctor said to us, as I looked up with my tear-filled eyes and I smiled.

"Natalie." I whispered. Kissing Zeria's forehead as she just smiled with tears in her eyes as well. By far the most beautiful thing we ever saw.

Now, we could only wait for the day that my daughter would be born, but there was a problem. I still wasn't married to Zeria yet. It wasn't that big a deal, but the more the silver vixen thought about it. She said that she wasn't going to deliver this baby until we were married.

So, here we are now. Preparing ourselves for the biggest day of our lives. We had about four days until the day was upon us so in the mean time. I sat around with a beer in my hand, talking to Fox and Matt.

"Marriage is a wonderful thing, kid. When things like our job don't interfere. Any ideas for a honeymoon?" Matt asked, a lemonade in his hand as the three of us sat by the pool, while everyone was having fun in the water. "Some place with a beach. We decided on that. What kind of tropical locations are there that would be perfect for a honeymoon?"

"I would say Degapalms is excellent, but I have a feeling you wouldn't want to go there. By the way, got any regrets?"

"For what?"

"Blowing up the most popular nightclub in the town?"

_I was true to my word. When our mission was done and I allowed myself some time to be able to adjust back to a normal lifestyle. I asked Dominic for some help with one last task._

"_You sure, Jeff? This one Javelin will destroy the building and the foundation it sits on. Is all of this necessary?"_

_I pondered that thought for a few moments, trying to see if this should be done. I just wanted to make sure that everything that has made my life miserable be resolved. This club killed Sam. "Is it loaded?"_

"_Sure is. I knew you would. Just wanted to see if you really go through with it. Turns out that we trained you extremely well."_

_I smiled, "Thanks. Stand back." I said, as I was handed the large rocket launcher. Took a moment to get used to the weight of the weapon, but thanks to Dominic. I was able to maintain a solid balance. "I'm gonna get in trouble for this, aren't I?" "No. No one will know we were here. Fire when ready."_

"_Ready." I mumbled, as I squeezed the trigger and watched the large projectile get thrown from the barrel. Almost immediately, the rocket engaged and it flew high into the air before making a severe nosedive and breached through the roof of the club. _

_The windows were the first to shatter, before the club itself exploded into a brilliant ball of orange and red. Just like Dominic had said, the foundation wasn't able to withstand the power of the Javelin as the building collapsed into the ground. Burying itself underneath its own rubble. Hot Nights was no more._

"_That one was for you, Sam."_

"No. Definitely the right thing to do. It had to be done."

"Well, I'll admit it was a nice club, but when it became a drug palace like when you went. I stopped going. Plus, Katt bit my ear just to make sure I wouldn't go again."

"Yeah, Krystal did something like that to me. Only it was my tail. Even though I never had a desire to go so I don't know why she bit me."

"Anyway, back to your question. Try Fortuna? There is a five, platinum star resort with the most beautiful beach ever. The sand itself, doesn't look like sand. It almost looks like salt. It never gets too hot so you won't burn your feet, but it is so fine grain that it's able to find every crack in your hand and escape. And that's only the beach. My resort itself, holy shit."

"If this sounds like the place for you to go, let me know and I'll start making reservations. Consider it a wedding gift."

"Is this place called Fortuna de Principe?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I've been there." I said with sorrow and sadness. Fox immediately picked up on it.

"Sorry, kid. We didn't know."

"Zeria is gonna love it." I said with a smile, as I took a sip from my glass of Mountain Dew.

"You sure? We can always find….."

"No. It's perfect."

"Jeff! Come in the water with us!" Zeria yelled, as she leaned up against the edge of the pool. I smiled, she was absolutely beautiful.

"Thanks, guys. This was a nice talk."

Fox laughed, "Go to your girl, kid." I nodded as I hopped in and wrapped my arms around my fiancée. "He's definitely going to have a good life."

It was a beautiful spring day and I don't think you could ask for anything like this, even if you wished for it. Everything was just so picturesque and pristine.

I gazed out the window and couldn't my eyes off the scenery before me. It was the only thing that kept me in the state of mind I was in now.

"How you doing, kid? For someone who's getting married today, you seem awfully calm."

"I won't stay like this forever, Wolf. I want this day done and over with."

"Don't say that, kid. This is every girl's fantasy. To have their dream wedding. Of course it is absolutely impossible to have it just like in their dreams, but you can do just as good. So don't screw it up." "Thanks for that, Bill. That helps me a lot. You douche."

"Hey. Watch the language. We're in a church." Dominic said, which surprised me that he would show up. Everyone actually made it. I just couldn't believe that they would risk being caught by someone, just to see me get married. It meant a lot to me.

"Do I really have to dance? I am considered the worst dancer ever."

"If you manage to get through the dance with stepping on your wife's foot. You're better than Ryan." "You're still thinking about that? Give it up already. It was only one time and I barely touched her foot."

"You almost made her fall!" Adrian said with a huge laugh, getting everyone in the room to laugh.

"I'm never going to hear the end of it."

"Don't worry, Ryan. I'm sure there are people who taped people doing the exact same thing and put it on PeopleTube."

"Shut up, kid." I laughed at his response, but a knock on the door changed everyone's train of thought. Especially mine.

Hunter walked over to the door and opened the door and was greeted by one of the wedding coordinators. "We need the groom on the altar and the ushers to get ready. Five minutes."

"Thanks." Hunter answered with a bit of an emotionless tone, which got a strange look from the coordinator. "What a joke. Did you hire her?" "Fox did. Said they were the best."

"Amateur." He said as he left the room, heading for his seat.

"Well, Jeff. I'm gonna go find my seat as well. Natalie is probably waiting for me anyway." "Thanks for coming, Jack. Means a lot that you guys came."

"Sorry we weren't ushers. Too much attention."

"I understand. Though, I wish you didn't bring your Rails with you."

"Protocol. You know this."

"I do." I said to Jack, shaking Dominic's hand as they left the room. "Well, I'll see you guys on the altar." I left the room, making my way towards the altar.

When I first entered, I was shocked to all the people who had showed up. I don't recall ever meeting this many people before. I had a feeling though that they were all here only because I was part of Lylat now most successful bounty hunting team.

I scanned everyone's faces and I did not recognize a single person, but oh well. They were here and I guess I could feel happy for that.

I took my spot next to the priest, an aging porcupine. He had a smile on his face and patted my shoulder for reassurance. I smiled and nodded back at him as now I all could do was just wait for the ceremony to begin.

I took this time to look at people's faces and that's when I finally noticed Slippy and Amanda sitting together with their children. Right behind them was Sideswipe. About six rows back and fifteen rows. I was just happy they came.

An organ filled the air as the ceremony was now beginning. I looked forward and saw a couple of flower girls walking down the center aisle. Penelope McCloud and Lena O'Donnell. Dropping rose petals every three feet or so.

Both wearing matching dresses, sky blue in color. That was the color theme for the wedding. _Guess who chose?_

Following the girls were two ring bearers, Marcus McCloud and Jericho O'Donnell. Both wearing the same exact suits their fathers were wearing. Only just much smaller. Both walking in perfect unison with each other.

The first couple to appear were Wolf and Fara. Wolf having a face of stone, while Fara also had the same look. Not even when a photographer stopped them for a photo, they didn't smile.

Adrian and Miyu were next in line and just like the O'Donnells, they had a face like stone. Actually, they showed a look that showed a lot of fierce determination. Like they would erupt in your face and kill you in an instant if provoked.

Ryan and Fay were the next to show and finally. A group that smiled when they entered the church. Everyone began to comment at how radiant Fay was looking probably because she was seven months pregnant. As they made their way down the aisle, Wolf finally stood next to me and nodded in my direction. Fara just winked at me and looked down the aisle once again.

Bill and Electra were the next to appear, both looking as similar as they were back during Fox and Krystal's wedding. Both actually wearing marine-issued sunglasses and carried a sidearm. Not even Fox did that.

I felt an elbow in my rib and I looked over at Wolf, as he lifted his jacket. A sawed-off shotgun. I sighed and rolled my eyes at him, while he just laughed quietly at me.

The last to appear were Matt and Katt, probably the most normal looking couple of the group. You could feel a pleasant aura around them as they made their way towards the altar.

"Was bringing your gun really necessary?" I whispered to Wolf. "We are now wanted by a lot of thugs across the galaxy. Better safe than sorry. I know Natalie has your SAW."

"Shh. Too loud." I scolded him, as the doors closed and the music began to change. I could my heartbeat race when I first heard the music. I was anticipating that my future wife was going to look absolutely gorgeous, but that was an understatement.

When the door opened, there she stood, with Fox and Krystal on both sides of her. A smile on her face as they made her way down the aisle. Everyone was shocked to see that she was pregnant, but that just added to her beauty in my opinion. She was an example of an angel and if she had wings. I would say she came from Heaven.

Penelope saw Zeria and ran for her. Out of all the people in our family, besides her mother, Zeria was her favorite. When she saw her making her way down the aisle, she had to give her a hug.

She took a knee and collected the young, blue vixen in her arms and hugged her tightly. "Thank you, Penelope."

"I love you, Aunt Zeria."

"I love you too." She said, as she finished her walk down the center aisle and gave Krystal her daughter. When she turned to stare at me, she giggled when she saw my expression. She mouthed 'thank you' to me before the priest began.

"Who gives this young vixen away?"

"We do." Fox said, his arm interlinked with Zeria's. Krystal as well, her arm interlinked with Zeria's. Fox kissed her on her cheek and let go of her. He made his way up the stairs and took his spot between myself and Wolf.

Krystal kissed and hugged her daughter, but had a little harder time letting go. Her face was a mess due to her crying, but she had a big smile on her face and finally let go of her. She took her spot between Zeria and Fara.

"That was one of the cutest things I ever saw during a wedding. You are going to be a loving mother."

"Thank you." She blushed at the compliment.

"Today is a marvelous day to be able to witness these two young foxes getting married. As I look at the two of you, I am able to see how much you two love each other. I think you two are the cutest couple I have seen in a while."

We both laughed at the compliment, the priest just chuckled and smiled as he raised his arms high into the air. "Lord, today you get to witness the Holy matrimony between these two children of yours. We ask you to watch over them with your love and kindness for their many years to come as husband and wife. May you help them find the light when they are in turmoil and may their love be strong until death parts them."

He paused for a moment and looked down at the young wolf, "Jericho. Please come forth with the ring." The young O'Donnell walked forward, making sure he wouldn't drop the ring and placed it in the porcupine's hand.

"Jeffrey. Please. Take this ring and place it on Zeria's finger." I complied and gently placed the golden ring on her finger, right next to her diamond engagement ring. "Jeffrey? Do you take Zeria as your wife, love her, comfort her, and cherish her until death do you part?"

"I do."

"Marcus. Please come forth with the ring." The young McCloud walked forth with the other ring, this being made of platinum. "Zeria. Please. Take this ring and place it on Jeffrey's finger." She nodded and carefully slid the ring on my finger. "Zeria? Do you take Jeffrey as your husband, love him, comfort him and cherish him until death you do part?"

"I do."

"You two have just completed the everlasting bond that you both now share. To be able to witness such a loving couple, such as yourselves, enter the world as husband and wife. It has been a true blessing and I share that blessing with you. Go forth, as husband and wife and always remember that whoever you are with. Not matter how difficult times can be. There is no other person in this universe that loves you more, than the one that stands in front of you. I can't think of a better mother and father for this young fox you bestow. You may now kiss the bride."

I nodded and leaned forward and kissed Zeria ever so softly, but that was at first. Soon, our mouths opened ever so slightly to allow our tongues to touch one another. It was a rather simple kiss, but it showed a lot of love and passion we have for one another. "Everyone. May I be the first to introduce to you, Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Meiners. Congratulations."

"I fucking hate you, Meiners!" A certain vixen was yelling in my ear, at the same time, grabbing my shoulder, to be exact. My pressure point. I was groaning in pain because this was painful.

"Let go of my shoulder before you get hurt!"

"I am already in fucking pain because of you! I will never forgive you for this, you got me, you fucker?"

I grabbed her hand and ripped it off my shoulder, feeling better already, but not before I yelled in pain as he claw dug into the skin and cut my shoulder. "Shit! That fucking hurts! Why the fuck would you do that?"

"It's fucking payback!"

"Stop saying fuck! My kids are right here!" Fox yelled, covering the ears of Penelope, while Krystal was covering Marcus'. I was driving the Escalade, but now I'm not so sure I wanted to anymore.

"Tell that to my wife! She freaking clawed my shoulder!"

"I don't care. Focus on the road or I am going to rip you out of the driver's seat!"

"We are already at the hospital. Calm down! Shit! I'm gonna need stitches!"

"Who cares about your shoulder? I got a baby that's trying to destroy me from the inside-out!"

"Just shut up! Now! Both of you before I shoot both of you!"

A security guard ran out and saw the pain Zeria was. "What seems to be the problem here?"

"I having a fucking baby! Get me a doctor now before I make you eat your own pepper spray!"

"Ma'am. Just calm down. I'll get you a…"

"Do it!" "Alright!" The guard yelled, as he ran inside and came back out a few moments later with a couple nurses, a doctor and a wheel chair.

"How long has she been in labor?"

"I don't know. About seventy minutes. Traffic getting here was horrible."

"Because you can't drive!"

"Shut up! Doctor, just get this baby out of her so I can relax!"

"Put her in the chair. We don't have much time. This is going to be a fast delivery." The doctor said to the nurse, as he and I lifted Zeria out of the passenger chair and into the wheel chair.

I tried to get away for a moment, but a hand grabbed a hold of mine. "Please, don't leave me! I can't do this alone!" Zeria pleaded, she was now bawling. She was a mess. Fucking emotions.

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm coming with you. This will be over with very soon."

Fox and Krystal waited outside with their children, waiting for the rest of the convoy to arrive. Bill and Electra in the Murcielago arrived first. "What took you guys so long?"

"You try passing a bus on a one-lane road with constant opposite following traffic! It's a pain in the fucking ass! I barely got by. Wolf and everyone else got trapped though. They won't be for a while."

"Let's go. Even though I'm enjoying the silence. Zeria and the kid were too busy yelling at each other."

"Kinda like me and Electra when she was giving birth. How long is it suppose to take her?"

"They say it's going to be a fast delivery." "If that's true, lucky bastards. Jason wasn't born for eighteen hours." Electra said, snarling at those evil hours she had spent giving birth.

"Let's go. I want a soda." Krystal said, as she reached for her husband's hand.

"Alright, hon. Let's get you a soda. I could use something myself." Fox replied as he grabbed his wife's hand. The four of them making their way into the hospital."

The group sat in the waiting room, waiting patiently for the news of the newborn. So far, it had been an hour and we didn't know exactly how much longer it was going to take.

At the moment, they just sat around, either reading a magazine or playing with their children. Fox sat around with Adrian and Ryan, while they just watched their wives play with their children. Ryan couldn't be anymore happier if he tried. Every time he looked down at his son, while he slept in his arms, he melted his heart.

"That same feeling I got when I first held Kristy has returned and hit me all over again. Have you ever seen anything so beautiful?"

"He definitely looks just like his old man. Hopefully he doesn't turn out like him."

"Can't believe it's already been three weeks since he was born. Time flies so fast."

"Daniel Adrian, huh? Kinda help, but feel honored by that."

"You should. I named my kid after you. Be happy."

"Eh."

"You're such a dick, Adrian."

Adrian just smiled to himself as he turned to look at his wife playing with Brandon. Seeing these times made his hard exterior dissolve. Miyu saw this and smiled back at him.

"Remember when we all used to be hard asses? We hated one another and never wanted to see each other again after that mission. Did you think we remain friends?" "I thought for sure Fox was going to kill you, Adrian after your war with Wolf started. I thought he was going to rip your head off after you hit Krystal. I am glad I have such good friends. If I ended up not meeting you guys and not meeting Fay either. I probably be a alcoholic bounty hunter. Probably be dead by now from alcohol poisoning."

"Glad we were able to make such a big difference in your life, you queer."

"Why do I bother talking to you guys? You always insult me."

"You make too big a deal out of this. We just like to mess with ya." Fox said, as he patted Ryan's shoulder.

"You've been messing with me since you met me. Can't you start respecting me." "I do respect you. I just don't like to show it."

"No one does. Not even my wife sometimes."

"You make too big a deal out of this. There is nothing wrong with some good harmless fun against your friends."

"I guess." Ryan mumbled to himself, as he looked up and saw the door swing open. Everyone stopped and turned and saw me standing in the doorway. My eyes fixed on Fox.

He rose from his chair and made his way over to me, he had a look of concern on his face, but I just smiled at him. "You wanna meet your granddaughter?"

Fox just froze, but he had a big smile on his face. Krystal came up beside him and by the look on her husband's face, there was big news. "Come on."

I led the way through the halls and came to halt in front of room number three seventy-five. I quietly opened the door and allowed Fox and Krystal to enter first.

Both their faces changed dramatically as they saw the little lupine sleeping in the arms of their daughter. She had a look of exhaustion, but she smiled and held her daughter in a way to allow her parents to see her daughter perfectly.

She was so small, having bright silver fur, just her mother, but she did have one physical feature of her father's. Her hair, the tip of her tail, her belly, feet and hands were a dark green.

"Say hello to Natalie Charlene." Zeria said a little too loud, as he daughter stirred a little and slowly opened her eyes. They were a mixture of green and gray. She didn't cry or anything, she just curiously stared at her grandparents.

"She's so beautiful. Look at her."

"She's basically a wolf, but she has some fox anatomies, like her ears and tail. She's absolutely normal and perfectly healthy."

"You did good, kid. You brought a healthy baby into this world. You ready to start living a new life?"

"Yes, I am."

"You ready to start being a parent and making sure that they live a life without danger."

I cautiously looked up at Fox, he had a look that showed how serious he was being. I dreaded something was coming. "What's going on? Where is this coming from?"

"Remember what Dominic said? We are now being hunted."

**And there you have it everyone! The end. What did you think? Did it meet your standards? I hope so. Getting your positive reviews is what keeps me writing. It fuels me. Well, i can say, after almost one year, Fear Styx Omega is coming to a close. I will update soon with my new story, Star Fox: Before Styx Omega. I hope you are excited for that because i had fun writing the chapter. Thank you fans. You are great. This is Krieger Aurelius signing off on Star Fox: Fear Styx Omega. I offically consider this story COMPLETED.**


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